Rahul, Kohli Steer India To Opening Win

The hosts’ chase saw three batters get out without scoring but Kohli and Rahul took charge to seal a sixwicket win

- VIVEK KRISHNAN

The deafening roar of a partisan Chepauk crowd at the halfway mark turned into stunned silence in the first ten minutes of India’s innings on Sunday. The reason? Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer all fell without opening their account, reducing India to 2/3 in two overs. It wasn’t supposed to be like this after India had skittled Australia for 199 thanks to a noteworthy bowling effort led by their spinners at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

But do the Australians ever give in without a fight, particularly at a World Cup? What followed were plenty of anxious moments for Virat Kohli and KL Rahul.

None more nervous for Kohli than when the ball seemed to hang in the air for an eternity after a miscued pull off Josh Hazlewood – he was on 12 – but Mitchell Marsh, rushing in from square leg, botched up. Once the ball touched the grass, the crowd let out a collective sigh of relief.

Mitchell Starc and Hazlewood had produced their fair share of wicket-taking deliveries in the opening burst, but they were also helped by some injudicious shot selection from the India top order. Kishan went at a full away swinger by Starc that could have been left alone. Iyer drove loosely at a Hazlewood length ball that David Warner gladly held on to at cover.

Kohli, too, played shots fraught with danger early on. On another day, one of his airy drives may have easily landed in the hands of the eager slip fielders. On another day, Marsh would have held on. But this wasn’t that day. Instead, Kohli and Rahul, with grit and grace in equal measure, oversaw the tough phase to cobble together a match-turning partnership of 165 runs off 214 balls. It paved the way for India’s six-wicket win in their opening game of the World Cup.