 "KL Rahul, Virat Kohli")
After India's six-wicket victory over Australia in their ICC Cricket World Cup campaign opener, middle-order batsman KL Rahul revealed that his batting partner, Virat Kohli, advised him to start slowly and play in a Test cricket-like manner, considering the challenging pitch conditions. Rahul and Kohli's composed partnership played a crucial role in India's win at Chennai's Chepauk stadium. Check New Zealand vs Netherlands Playing 11, toss and match updates here
"There were not a lot of conversations with Kohli. I had just taken a shower and was hoping to put my feet up for half an hour after the fielding innings, but I had to come in. Virat said that I should play like Test cricket for a bit. Happy to play this for the team. There was a bit of help for the fast bowlers early on. Towards the end, the dew played a bit of a part for them. The ball also skidded on better. It was still two-paced. It was not a great wicket to bat on, neither was it too difficult. I think it was a good cricket wicket, that is what you get in the South of India, especially in Chennai. (Last shot for six) I hit it too well. I wanted to get a hundred by going four and six. Hopefully, some other time I can get it," said KL in the post-match presentation.
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Coming to the match, Australia lost Mitchell Marsh for a duck, but opener David Warner (41 in 52 balls with six fours) and Steve Smith (46 in 71 balls with five fours) helped the Aussies recover with their 69-run second-wicket partnership. Marnus Labuschagne (27) tried to take the Aussie innings forward with Smith, but following Smith's dismissal, Australia faced a collapse.
The spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja (3/28), Kuldeep Yadav (2/42) and Ravichandran Ashwin (1/34) wreaked havoc on Australia's line-up of recognised batters while the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah (2/35), Mohammed Siraj (1/26) and Hardik Pandya (1/28) removed the lower order, sinking Australia from 110/3 to 199 all out in 49.3 overs. Mitchell Starc (28) tried to help the Aussies play the full quota of 50 overs, but he failed.
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In the chase of 200, India lost Ishan Kishan, skipper Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer for ducks, leaving India at 2/3. Then a 165-run stand between Virat (85 in 116 balls with six fours) and KL Rahul (97* in 115 balls with eight fours and two sixes) helped India secure a six-wicket win. Josh Hazlewood (3/38) was the best bowler for Australia.
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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
