Cricket Highlights, 08 Oct: ICC Cricket World Cup (5th Match) – India vs Australia – India eventually trounced Australia on a sluggish field after much adversity.

India vs Australia (5th Match) – Highlights

They lost 3 wickets at 2 runs. Who would have predicted that India would defeat Australia by six wickets in their World Cup debut? Given that it was an Indian squad, it might have been conceivable. Whereas the beginning was so bad, India eventually reached the port of triumph because of the responsible batting of players like Virat Kohli and Lokesh Rahul. Because of this, India is one of the teams that is a strong contender for the World Cup. 

On a very sluggish surface, India and Australia engaged in a high-stakes contest. Given how Australia batted after winning the toss, it is obvious that this game will not feature many runs.

The potency of the Indian bowlers caused Australia, who were batting first in a low-scoring match, to be bowled out for just 199 runs in 49.3 overs. Only David Warner and Steven Smith fought to overcome Bumrah, Jadeja, Ashwin, and Siraj otherwise none of them was able to bat in front of them. Smith scored 46 runs in total. Where Warner scored 41 runs.

Prior to the World Cup’s start, Australia participated in a three-match ODI series on Indian soil. Pat Cummins & Co. has already made adjustments to fit the environment and climate of India. Because of this, everyone anticipated that the Australian batsmen, making their World Cup debut in Chennai, would add significant runs to the scoreboard.

But the Australian batsmen’s performance must have disappointed the visitors. The Australian batters struggled against the Indian bowling after choosing to bat first after winning the toss.

At the M Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, spin is essential. One of India’s most prosperous stadiums is located in Chennai. The pitch is quite sluggish. How rational it was to choose to bat first after winning the toss was the big question at that point.

At the very beginning of batting, Australia lost Mitchell Marsh’s wicket. In the third over, Marsh came back and he caught off Bumrah’s ball. After that, despite batting slowly together, Smith and Warner attempted to produce a big partnership. They made a pair of 69 runs. Warner got out after scoring 41 runs off 52 balls.

Following that, Smith and Marnus Labuschagne combined for 36 runs. Smith also came back at the team’s 110 runs. He used 71 balls to score 46 runs. Labuschagne was out after 41 balls and 27 runs. Only 15 runs were scored by Glenn Maxwell. A run was not visible to Alex Carey. For 8 runs, Cameron Greene was back at the restroom. Pat Cummins scored 15 runs. 

Mitchell Starc scored 28 runs, and 6 runs from Adam Zampa were added. After Mitchell Starc was out, Australia’s innings came to a close. 3 wickets were taken by Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja. Mohammad Siraj, Hardik Pandya, and Ravichandran Ashwin each grabbed one wicket, while Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah each took two wickets.

Everyone believed that even with a modest aim of 200 runs, India could win by simply playing aggressively. But when Australia is the team, fighting comes naturally to them. In the first two overs, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood decimated India’s top order.

The two Aussie fast bowlers bowled Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Shreyas Iyer, and back them to the pavilion for 0 runs. With 3 wickets they scored only 2 runs, and India began to experience the other side of the coin. After that, though, Virat Kohli and Lokesh Rahul came to the rescue.

Once again, Virat Kohli demonstrated why he is regarded as the best batsman in the world. Under pressure, Virat turned back the Aussie Pacers’ fireballs and led his squad straight to the port of victory. Where Lokesh Rahul accompanied him.

Lokesh Rahul and Kohli continued to play slowly keeping wickets in slow batting. This batsman took his half-century off 75 balls. At the other end, Rahul also got to see a half-century. He also picked up a half-century off 72 balls.

Once it seemed that Kohli would take the team to the port of victory with an impeccable century. But after scoring 85 runs off 116 balls, Hazlewood got him and returned him to the pavilion. At the other end, Rahul survived till the end. Just 3 runs away from the century, he left the field with an unbeaten 97 to ensure the victory of the team. In the end, Hardik Pandya came down and scored 11 runs off 8 balls. Hazlewood took 3 wickets and Starc took 1 wicket for Australia.

India vs Australia Scoreboard 

Australia – 199/10 (49.3)  

India – 201/4 (41.2)

Result – India won by 6 wickets

Player of the match – KL Rahul

Steven Smith

India vs Australia Playing XIs