Virat Kohli and KL Rahul hit defiant half-centuries as hosts India beat Australia by six wickets in the Cricket World Cup on Sunday, making a good start to the global tournament.
Chasing a tricky target of 200 for victory in Chennai, India were three down for two runs before Kohli (85) and Rahul (97 not out) put together a stand of 165 to achieve the target with 52 balls to spare.
Earlier Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja returned figures of 3-28 to help bowl out Australia for 199 in 49.3 overs.
In their chase, India found themselves in a precarious position, losing three wickets for a mere two runs on the board in their quest for 200 against Australia in the inaugural match of the World Cup 2023 in Chennai.
The initial breakthrough came from Mitchell Starc, who dismissed Ishan Kishan. Josh Hazlewood followed suit, claiming the scalps of Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer.
All three batters endured a scoreless outing. While Ishan faced a golden duck, Iyer and Rohit managed only three and six balls, respectively.
Australia, having won the toss, posted a total of 199. Despite an early setback, David Warner and Steven Smith forged a 69-run partnership for the second wicket, providing a solid foundation for the Aussies.
However, they fell short of a challenging total. Ravindra Jadeja shone with the ball, securing three crucial wickets from the middle-order of Australia, while conceding a mere 28 runs in his 10-over spell.
For Australia, Smith emerged as the top scorer with 46 runs, closely followed by Warner with 41. Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Starc were the other two batters to breach the 20-run mark.
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