India defeated Australia by a margin of 6 wickets in a low-scoring thriller in Chennai. In what was a game of emotions, both teams had their chances of winning the game but India held their nerve to end up on the right side of the result.
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| Image Credits: ESPN Cricinfo |
Australia won the toss and opted to bat first on a pitch that proved to be on the slower side most of the match! Mitchell Marsh had a bad day as he departed for a 6-ball Duck. David Warner (41 off 52) and Steve Smith (46 off 71) then shared a 69-run partnership for the second wicket.
Once the stand was broken, Indian spinners took control of the situation and bowled out Australia for just 199 runs in 49.3 overs. Ravindra Jadeja was India's top performer with the ball having returned figures of 3/28 from 10 overs which included 2 maiden overs as well.
India was in complete control of the game at this stage! However, the second innings proved to be a disaster at the start of the run chase. Rohit Sharma (0 off 6), Ishan Kishan (0 off 1), and Shreyas Iyer (0 off 3) all departed for a Duck with just 2 runs on the board in the first 2 overs.
Hazlewood and Starc run through India's innings with Starc removing Ishan and Josh dismissing Rohit and Shreyas in the 2nd over. Virat Kohli was dropped by Mitch Marsh on 12 off Hazlewood's bowling and it proved to be the costliest mistake in Australia's innings!
Virat Kohli (85 off 116) and KL Rahul (97* off 115) stitched a 165-run partnership for the 4th wicket and settled India's innings while taking India close to the target. Though victory seemed impossible for India at the start of the run-chase, they eventually chased down the target with 8.4 overs remaining.
Brief Scores: India - 201/4 in 41.2 overs (KL Rahul - 97*, Virat Kohli - 85, Josh Hazlewood - 3/38) defeated Australia - 199 all out in 49.3 overs (Steven Smith - 46, Ravindra Jadeja - 3/28) by a margin of 6 wickets (with 52 balls remaining)
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