Chennai: The Indian team produced one of it’s most memorable wins in recent times as they beat Australia by 26 runs via DLS method in the first ODI in Chennai on Sunday and gained a 1-0 in the five-match series.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first-a decision which backfired big time as Nathan Coulter-Nile tore apart the top-order.
Opener Ajinkya Rahane (5) was the first one to bite the dust and Kohli and Manish Pandey soon followed suit with ducks against their name as the Indian batting looked to be in complete disarray at 11/3.
Things even worsened for the Men in Blue after Rohit Sharma too made his way into the dressing room after a brief period of fightback alongside Kedar Jadhav at 64/4. Jadhav’s brief resistance also ended when he was caught by Hilton Cartwright off the bowling of Marcus Stoinis as the scorecard read 87/5.
But it was a partnership between former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni along with the big-hitting Hardik Pandya that changed the complexion of the match completely.
The duo plundered their way to 118-run stand that was all about keeping the scoreboard ticking.
Pandya, who had come up with a powerful knock in a losing cause in the Champions Trophy final earlier this year, once again showed the world as to why he is so dangerous with the willow in hand as he clobbered the Aussie bowlers for sixes, especially Adam Zampa, which helped India gain some much-needed momentum heading towards the end overs.
But he was unfortunate to have missed out on a well-deserved ton after he fell to Zampa in the 41st over.
Dhoni, who had played second fiddle to Pandya all this while once again reinstated his worth in India’s limited overs’ setup after he continued to guide India’s innings after Pandya’s wicket and helped them to 281/7. The Jharkhand batsman who is a local favourite at the MA Chidambaram Stadium was greeted with a lot of warmth and he too didn’t fail to give it back with a well-made 79 of 88 balls that included four fours and two sixes. In this process, he also reached to 100 international fifties. Bhuvneshwar Kumar too remained unbeaten on 32 from 30 balls.
However rains threatened to ruin the exciting contest between these two heavyweights but finally when the second innings resumed, the target was reduced to 164 runs to be chased in 21 overs. While the Australians would have fancied their chances, as the total looked gettable, given the IPL experience they have, the Indian bowlers had different plans in mind.
Jasprit Bumrah drew first blood after he bowled the right-handed Cartwright. Skipper Steve Smith was the second one to follow for just one as the Indians looked to make further inroads into the Australian batting. Pandya, after dismissing Smith also sent back Travis Head (5) as well as the visitors were slowly losing their control over the match. Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav added to their misery when he dismissed David Warner, who was playing his first ODI in India for 25 to leave the Aussies at 35/4 after the eighth over.
However Glenn Maxwell’s 39-run blitz of just 18 balls once again titled the game in favour of the visitors and for a brief period of time, it looked as if he would take away the game. But after Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed him, all chances of an Australian fightback ended as the others failed to contribute. Only James Faulkner’s unbeaten 32 of 25 balls was the other considerable effort.
Brief scores-
India 281/7 (Hardik Pandya 83, MS Dhoni 79; Nathan Coulter-Nile 3/44) beat Australia 136/9 (Glenn Maxwell 39, James Faulkner 32 n.o; Yuzvendra Chahal 3/30) by 26 runs via DLS method.