India win their fourth successive opening match in World Cups
India began their 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup campaign in style after beating five-time champions Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The Men in Blue successfully chased down 200 despite suffering initial blows. India were reduced to 2/3 before Virat Kohli and KL Rahul shared a century stand, which paved their way. Earlier, a concerted effort from the Indian bowlers decimated Australia.
Australia bundled out for 199
Batting first, Australia managed 43/1 in the first Powerplay after losing Mitchell Marsh. David Warner and Steven Smith shared a 69-run stand. Marnus Labuschagne joined Smith after Warner's departure. They took Australia past 100 before Ravindra Jadeja struck. R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Hardik Pandya also chipped in as Australia perished (199). Mitchell Starc (28) and Pat Cummins (15) scored crucial runs.
India win by six wickets
Starc and Hazlewood got Australia off to an incredible start. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan departed without scoring as Australia's pace duo was on fire. Shreyas Iyer too departed for a duck as India were 2/3 after two overs. Kohli and Rahul then negated the Australian threat and stitched a match-winning partnership. Notably, the former was dropped in the eighth over.
Kohli slams his ninth WC 50+ score
Kohli came to the middle after India lost three quick wickets. This put the onus on Kohli and Rahul. The duo gave an exhibition of resistance and endurance thereafter. Kohli played meticulously, having scored just 6 fours in his knock. He scored 61 runs off singles and doubles. Kohli smashed a 116-ball 85, his ninth 50+ score in the World Cup.
Fastest to 1,000 World Cup runs
Warner, who scored 41, became the fastest to 1,000 World Cup runs. He took just 19 innings, having displaced India's Sachin Tendulkar and former South African captain AB de Villiers (20 innings each). Notably, Warner's average of 60.76 is the highest among batters with at least 1,000 runs at the event. Warner previously featured in two editions of the World Cup (2015 and 2019).
Fourth Australian to get the mark
Warner has become just the fourth Aussie to get 1,000 runs in ODI WCs. Ricky Ponting is Australia's top scorer in WC history, having slammed 1,743 runs at 45.86. Adam Gilchrist (1,085) and Mark Waugh (1,004) are the others on this list.
Jadeja claims his first WC three-fer
Smith and Labuschagne got Australia past 100 after Warner departed. Although Australia looked set at 110/2, they couldn't find boundaries in back-to-back overs. Jadeja exerted further pressure by dismissing Smith and Labuschagne in quick succession. The Indian spinner also removed Alex Carey for a duck. Jadeja picked his first three-fer in the World Cup, having conceded 28 runs in 10 overs.
Second Indian with this record against Australia
Jadeja attained a massive feat after dismissing Smith. He has become only the second Indian to complete 100 international wickets against Australia at home. Jadeja joined veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh, who owns 105 international wickets against Australia at home. Overall, England's Stuart Broad is the only other bowler to have taken over 100 international wickets against Australia at home.
More feats for Jadeja
Jadeja now has the third-most wickets in India vs Australia ODIs (37). He overtook Ajit Agarkar, who owns 36 wickets in this regard. Kapil Dev (45) and Mohammed Shami (38) occupy the top two spots, respectively. As per Cricbuzz, Jadeja's 3/28 are the best bowling figures by an Indian spinner against Australia in an ODI World Cup match.
Other notable numbers
As per Cricbuzz, at 36 years and 161 days, Rohit has become India's oldest captain in a World Cup match. India faced Australia for the 150th time in ODIs, the second-most matches for India against a side. Jadeja has now dismissed Smith five times in 2023 (Nagpur Test, Indore Test, Ahmedabad Test, WTC final, and WC 2023).
Maxwell completes 3,500 ODI runs
Like the other Aussie batters, Maxwell couldn't capitalize after starting well. He scored just 15(25) before falling to Kuldeep. In the process, Maxwell completed 3,500 runs in ODI cricket. The 34-year-old touched the figure with his fifth run. Maxwell became the 20th Australian batter to complete 3,500 runs in ODI cricket. He reached the landmark on his 130th match.
A forgettable feat for the Aussies
Smith was Australia's top scorer in the match (46). As per Bharath Seervi, this is the first time in 40 years that the Australian batters failed to score a 50-plus against India in an ICC Cricket World Cup match (full innings played).
Ducks galore!
According to Seervi, this is only the second time both Indian openers got out for ducks in a World Cup match. The first such instance was against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup. Also, this is the first time in India's ODI history that three of the top four batters have been dismissed for ducks (Rohit, Kishan, and Iyer).
Fastest to 50 World Cup wickets
Australian pacer Starc has become the fastest bowler to accomplish 50 wickets in the World Cup. He reached the milestone with his first wicket in the match. Starc displaced bowling legend Lasith Malinga, who was previously the fastest to this mark (26 games). The former has taken six fewer matches for 50 wickets. Overall, Starc became the fifth bowler to attain this feat.
Another special knock from Rahul
While Kohli took his due time, Rahul took on the Aussie bowlers sporadically. The latter, who has been on song since the Asia Cup, continued with his run in Chennai. Once again, Rahul's endearing footwork against spin in the middle overs was on display. Although Kohli departed eventually, Rahul stuck till the end, having scored a 115-ball 97* (8 fours and 2 sixes).
Rahul completes 1,000 ODI runs at home
Rahul slammed his 16th half-century in ODI cricket. He could have scored his seventh ODI ton. Nevertheless, during the match, Rahul completed 1,000 ODI runs at home. He reached this landmark in his 24th home encounter. Rahul now has eight fifties at home in the format. Two of his six ODI tons have come in home conditions.
