As opening matches of ODI World Cups go for host nations, India’s six-wicket win over Australia in Chennai on Sunday was both reassuring to the team’s unparalleled fan base and somewhat quixotic. A day after the notoriously slow and low Delhi stadium broke from tradition and served up a road of a track on which 754 runs were scored, including an ODI World Cup record high total of 428, a familiar sort of strip in Chennai saw India’s spinners dominate Australia to set up a victory that looked a distant possibility when the home team slipped to 2/3 in just nine deliveries.
Set 200 to win, India lost Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer for ducks as Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood delivered an outstanding opening spell, but a partnership for the ages between Virat Kohli and KL Rahul smoothed over a crisis and eventually made the difference on a tacky surface.
Dropped by Mitch Marsh when he was on 12, Kohli summoned his reservoir of experience to script an innings of immense focus. His 85 from 116 deliveries – which ended when he swatted a short ball from Hazlewood to Marnus Labuschagne at catching midwicket – was a superb effort from a master of the ODI chase in Indian conditions. If India are to go on to win the World Cup, Kohli and Rohit need to have bumper tournaments and the former India captain has emphatically underlined his value.
Rahul, who has statistically been India’s best No 5 in the past two years, finished what he had started with 97 not out, hitting the winning runs in what stands as his fourth 50-plus score in seven ODI innings since returning from injury. An outstanding alliance worth 164 that took the match away from Australia, which negated all that the team threw their way on a challenging surface.
It had been widely speculated what sort of pitch we would get for game five of the tournament. Would the ICC risk a turning track for the biggest match of the World Cup so far, given the Indian team’s struggles against quality spin this year? Would it be another run-scoring surface, which adds to the broadcaster’s agenda? In early October, at the onset of India’s home season, would the track turn like ones in March-April?
The re-laid surface for this match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium was like much of the Chennai pitches of the past: slow and dry and offering spinners plenty. Run-scoring was tricky against the slow men, and in Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja the home team had three excellent and varied spinners which is where this match was settled.
Rohit said at the toss that batting would get tougher as the game went on, and so when Pat Cummins opted to bat, India had their work cut out. In March, on this same ground, India failed to chase 270 in the deciding ODI against Australia. On a similar surface, getting Australia out for less than 220 was imperative and India did just that, led by their spinners.
On cue, this trio of spinners kept a lid on runs and forced the Australian batsmen into lapses in concentration. David Warner was set on 41 off 52 balls when he chipped an easy catch back to Kuldeep. Smith, the best man to set a platform for Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green, was tied down to the extent that on 46 from 76 balls he misjudged a terrific delivery from Jadeja and was bowled. Labuschagne’s struggle ended when he attempted an ambitious sweep to Jadeja and feathered an edge to Rahul behind the stumps. That wicket brought to the crease Alex Carey, which prompted Jadeja to fire in a quicker one that had the left-hander playing all over his front pad for a duck.
At 119 for 5 in the 30th over, Australia had lost much steam. Immediately, sending a chance to dismiss Australia for 200 or less, Rohit called back Bumrah. But it was spin that delivered the next wicket as well, when Kuldeep was called back to bowl and had Maxwell playing back in the crease only to be bowled. Not long after, Ashwin collected his first World Cup wicket since 2015 when Green sliced to point.
Of the 49.3 overs that Australia faced, 30 were delivered by India’s three slow bowlers, for 104 runs and the return of six wickets. Smart, honest spin. Nothing fancy. Very few variations. Stump to stump lines. Ashwin playing on the Australians’ minds. Jadeja firing the ball in to make run-scoring tough. Kuldeep searching for wickets, taking a couple of risks here and there. All this made strike rotation difficult, and it is here that the frustration got to Australia.
The ball that Jadeja bowled to Smith, which went across him and hit off stump, was emblematic of the day. Tough batting conditions, sapping hot conditions and the best three-prong spin attack of the tournament operating on a helpful pitch. The venues for India’s next Two matches, in Delhi on October 11 and Ahmedabad three days later, will not be as favourable to their spinner. The match against Bangladesh in Pune could see spin dominate like on Sunday. Dharamshala will aid pace, as will Eden Gardens when India face South Africa in dewy conditions.
Thus, this opening match in Chennai is an anomaly. But India had the players to settle the outcome, and can take plenty of confidence from beating third-ranked Australia who are the most successful World Cup team ever. This tournament, for a nation, began on Sunday for all practical purposes. And the manner in which India have started their tournament will have reignited the spark in countless Indian cricket fans. This is India’s World Cup to lose.
