India vs Australia, Match 5, 2023 ODI World Cup

Pat Cummins  6.2-0-33-0

Stat - Australia at Chennai in ODI World Cup

Won vs India, 1987

Won vs Zimbabwe, 1987

Won vs New Zealand, 1996

Lost vs India, 2023

India win by four wickets

KL Rahul is shocked!! He has just hit a six to win the game for India but he was looking for a four so that he gets another crack at hitting a six that would have gotten him a century. Nevertheless, he has helped India make a great start to their World Cup campaign. It's a massive win especially against one of your potential title rivals. What a game this has been. India looked in deep trouble at 2/3 at one stage but Kohli and Rahul showed a lot of discipline and class to bail them out. Australia have two games in Lucknow where the conditions will be slower again. Their batters will have to bat better than they did today.

Stat - Kohli in India's first match in World Cups

100* vs Bangladesh, Mirpur 2011

107 vs Pakistan, Adelaide 2015

18 vs South Africa, Southampton 2019

85 vs Australia, Chennai 2023

Kohli misses ton

Chepauk rises to Kohli as the talismanic player walks back to the dressing room after reviving India. He was batting beautifully but he wanted to step on the accelerator and took on a short ball from Hazlewood but he hits it straight to midwicket. He falls for 85 but has put India on the brink of a win.

India are cruising

Got to say India are now firm favourites to get this done. These two look settled in the crease. There has been some dew for a while now and that has aided them as well. Virat might even get a century now from here as he enters the 80s. India are 151/3 after 35 overs. 49 needed from 90 balls.

Another stat

Lowest scores at the start of a 100+ 4th wicket partnership

2/3 Ind vs Aus Chennai 2023 (118* by Kohli - Rahul)

4/3 Ind v Zim Adelaide 2004 (133 by Dravid - Laxman)

4/3 Ind v Aus Sydney 2019 (137 by Rohit - Dhoni)

Stat - 100+ partnerships for India vs Australia in World Cup:

141 - A Jadeja & RR Singh, The Oval, 1999

127 - S Dhawan & RG Sharma, The Oval, 2019

103* - V Kohli & KL Rahul, Chennai, 2023*

Century stand

India must be feeling a lot more confident now. These two have brought up their respective fifties and the partnership has gone past 100 as well. Australia still shouldn't lose hope though. One wicket now can bring the pressure back.

Update - India 97/3 after 25 overs

Remember, Australia by this stage had five more runs and had lost one less wicket. So there are no guarantees for India at this stage but this has definitely been a commendable comeback from 2/3. Both Rahul and Kohli are approaching their fifties.

India revived

The crowd are finding their voice again as KL Rahul and Virat Kohli have steadied India. From 27/3, they are now 80/3 after 20 overs. The required run rate isn't an issue at all. India would just want these two to carry on with their good work.

Powerplay - India 27/3

What a powerplay it's been. No one saw that coming. India would have been in more trouble had Mitchell Marsh judged a skier to perfection. Virat Kohli mistimed a pull and both Carey and Marsh were after it. Thankfully for India, Marsh misjudged the chance.

Make it 2/3

Chepauk is stunned!! This is absolutely crazy as India keep losing wickets. Shreyas Iyer has just played a tame shot to get himself out for a duck. This was bowled short and wide and he should have left it especially in this scenario but he chases it and hits it straight to Warner. India are 2/3. KL Rahul is here.

Stat

The last time both Indian openers were out on a duck in an ODI match was in 2004 against Zimbabwe at Adelaide (Sanjay Banger and Parthiv Patel)

India are 2/2

Wow!! Australia won't go down without a fight, will they? Josh Hazlewood pitches one that comes back in to strike Rohit Sharma on the pads and the finger goes up. That looked plumb but Rohit still opted for a review. Replays show that it would have clipped the stumps. He has to walk back. India are in trouble and Shreyas Iyer is already out there just nine balls into the run chase.

Early wicket for Australia

This is what they need. They have to strike early with the new ball to put pressure on India and then hope their spinners can make an impact. Ishan Kishan, playing in place of Shubman Gill, tries to drive one and edges it to Cameron Green at slip. Virat Kohli is in as early as in the first over.

Spin vs pace in Australia's innings

Spin - 30 overs, 104 runs, 6 wickets, ER 3.47

Pace - 19.3 overs, 89 runs, 4 wickets, ER 4.61

Australia 199 all out

If not for Starc's crucial 28, Australia wouldn't have even crossed 170. He dragged it right until the final over before a slower delivery from Siraj did the trick. Australia are 199 all out. India need 200 to get their World Cup campaign off to a great start.

This could end soon now

Cummins was Australia's best bet to get them past 200 but Bumrah comes back to dismiss him as well. Australia are now 165/8. Zampa and Hazlewood are not known for their batting.

Spinners put India on top

From 111/2, Australia are now reeling at 140/7. The wickets are just tumbling here at Chepauk on a typical spin friendly surface. Jadeja did the maximum damage by picking three wickets. Kuldeep then returned to remove the key man Maxwell before Ashwin opened his account with the wicket of Cameron Green. Just Cummins and Starc out there now.

A duck for Carey

Jadeja is causing all the damage now. He has really taken off. After dismissing Labuschagne, he also gets rid of Alex Carey in the same over. He comes around the wicket and the ball turns in after pitching to rap him on the pads. He is given out and after a lot of deliberation, Carey runs out of time to take the review. Wow, Australia are 119/5 after 30 overs.

Jaddu strikes again

Australia are in real trouble now as Jadeja strikes again. This was bowled at a back of a length and wasn't really ideal to be swept but Labuschagne attempted exactly that. He gets a faint edge through to the keeper and is given out. However, he isn't sure if he has hit and opts for a review. The replays confirm the edge and the batter has to walk back.

Beauty!!

Wow, that's the dream ball for a spinner. Jadeja gets the big fish. Smith was always the key batter in these conditions and he was well set on 46 but Jadeja has bowled a delivery that pitched and turned away enough to hit the off stump. Australia are in trouble now at 110/3.

Update - Australia 102/2 after 25 overs

This is old school ODI cricket. The bowlers are in the game, the batters are trying to bat deep into the innings. Australia have scored just over four runs per over until now. They need to step on the accelerator but doubt they will do it right away. After five overs or so if they don't lose a wicket, Australia might look to start batting in positive fashion.

Stat -Kuldeep Yadav vs David Warner in ODIs

Balls - 83

Runs - 66

Outs - 3

Avg - 22.00

Dots - 41

Kuldeep strikes

He's in this side to pick wickets and he picks a crucial one now. David Warner was settling down and rotating strike with Smith but he chips one back to the bowler and is dismissed for 41. Australia are 74/2 after 17 overs as Labuschagne joins Smith out in the middle.

Powerplay - Australia 43/1

India have kept it tight and the pitch is already showing signs of playing slow. Ashwin has bowled a couple of overs in the powerplay and we will see Jadeja and Kuldeep soon as well.This is also Australia's lowest score in the Powerplay in the last 15 ODIs.Their average PP score in the previous 14 games was 76.

Early wicket

That's a massive breakthrough for India. Mitchell Marsh has been in fine form and we know he can really hurt opposition in the powerplay. But Jasprit Bumrah gives India the big breakthrough as Marsh edges one behind to the slip fielder.

Toss - Australia opt to bat

The sun is out, the pitch is on the slower side and no wonder Australia have opted to bat first here at Chepauk. The spinners are going to be in the game right from the start and India have gone in with all three for this contest. Shubman Gill sits out as expected and Ishan Kishan comes in.

Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Rohit Sharma: Captain Faithful

For all the qualities associated with Rohit Sharma - the quirky and laid back persona, his easy predisposition - there is a common thread of loyalty and friendship. Our correspondent Kaushik Rangarajan speaks to the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Pragyan Ojha on Rohit 'the leader' as he is all set to lead his nation on the big stage, having been left out in 2011. Have a read here.

Build up

In many ways, this does feel like the 'unofficial tournament opener' like our correspondent Kaushik mentioned in his . For many in India, the World Cup will have finally 'arrived' today with their team set to begin their campaign. The last time India hosted a World Cup, the trophy was labelled 'the cup of joy'. Winning that after 28 years indeed did bring so much joy to this nation. And now, the expectations are high again for a home World Cup. When have the expectations not been high you may ask. But this time, they do look primed to go all the way. However, no trophy is won on paper and the first real test begins in their opening game today at Chepauk.

Five-time champions Australia did beat them at this venue earlier this year on a surface that assisted spin. Traditionally, Chennai has supported the slow bowlers and that is likely to force India to play all three spinners in the XI. They can definitely afford to go down that route with Hardik Pandya making rapid strides as a fast bowler once again over the last couple of years. Both teams are also set to miss an opener each for this clash as Shubman Gill might not be risked for this contest. And we just don't know when Travis Head would be declared 100% fit.

That shouldn't unsettle Australia as they still look extremely strong especially after Marnus Labuschagne's ODI revival recently. Both him and Steve Smith will be crucial in these conditions and if the aggressive batters around them can make merry, India will have their task cut out. India have a strong middle order as well this time with KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer out there to give that reassurance in case the top order falters. We have only had one-sided contests so far in the tournament. Hopefully, these two teams can change that and give us a cracker!!