World Cup 2023: Kohli-Rahul ace herculean chase, compensating for top-order failure

When Indian opening batter Ishan Kishan departed in the first over without scoring, the Chepauk crowd erupted in cheer for Virat Kohli, who was walking in to bat at one-down.

However, this Kohli-driven joy was very short-lived as the Aussie pace attack led by Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood claimed the wickets of Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer, in quick succession. Just like Kishan, they too went for a duck. At the end of three overs, team India were limping at 5-3 (a scoreboard that appeared more like one from a football match). However, meticulous stroke play during a 165-run partnership (off 215 balls) by the Kohli-Rahul duo stood tall and snatched the game from the Aussies.

As is often the case in big international tournaments, Kohli was seen fighting to keep India’s hopes alive, while his fellow top-order batters left him deserted in a high-pressure situation. The Kohli-Rahul partnership didn’t just offer solace and finesse, the stunning performance of this duo was also a face-saver for the Indian top order that fell like skittles.

Luck also played a major part in ensuring Kohli’s long and fulfilling innings as he was dropped at 12 by Mitchell Marsh when he was dropped at 12 by Mitchell Marsh when he was just starting to settle in. This explains the luck that Indian skipper Rohit Sharma had hoped for, during his pre-match presser. Except for a couple of risky shots, Kohli displayed the supreme and clinical stroke play that he is world-renowned for. KL Rahul played an innings that was similarly paced to that of Kohli’s, thereby complementing the careful construction of an Indian fightback. Kohli fell to a Josh Hazlewood delivery when he was 15 runs short of a ton.

While 200 did not seem like a very challenging total for the hosts, the top-order failure made even survival look herculean. While the Aussie top order kept the score going, it was a middle and tail failure that caused them trouble. In stark contrast, India’s top order failed, whereas one-down Kohli and three-down Rahul compensated, in a classy and memorable manner.

The partnership of David Warner(41 runs) and Steve Smith(46 runs) helped the visitors notch up their score beyond 100, by the time they had batted halfway through the innings. Having lost only two wickets till the halfway mark of their innings, Australia lost all remaining wickets in the latter half. In India’s case, after the debacle in the first three overs, it was a Kohli-Rahul show that entirely absorbed the pressure and carried the chase and Indian fans’ expectations on their shoulders till the near end. Notably, until the first 25 overs, the scoring rate of the Indian side remained quite similar to that of the Aussies. However, the well-settled Indian batters accelerated their chase in the second half of their innings.

As India bowled, the spin trio – Ravindra Jadeja (3 wickets), Kuldeep Yadav (2 wickets) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2wickets) proved lethal and scalped a total of seven wickets. The rest were taken care of by pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who claimed one wicket each, thereby bowling out Australia in the final over. The admirable pace bowling spell of Siraj also restricted the visitors’ scoring rate. For the visitors, it was the pace attack led by Josh Hazlewood (3 wickets) and Mitchell Starc (1 wicket), who did the damage and the spin bowling failed to scalp any.

After Kohli departed, India needed 33 runs to win. This was ably handled by a few big hits from Hardik Pandya (11*) and KL Rahul (97*). India sealed a stellar win with six wickets in hand. The sign-off sixer was by KL Rahul, who ended up three short of a well-deserved century. With this, India have won the 150th India-Australia ODI and have had a positive start to the ICC World Cup that is being hosted at home. With a little over 75 per cent occupancy, the fans at the Chepauk stadium got their money’s worth. However, what remains unexplained is how almost 8500 seats went unoccupied for this Sunday’s super clash, which is also the maiden match for both India and Australia, in this World Cup.