Men in Blue start their world cup campaign on a high note, courtesy a comfortable victory against Australia. A low scoring match went India’s way uplifting the spirits of Indian cricket team. India who is known for their batting, stepped up with their dominant bowling performance to restrict the Aussie total to a mere 199. With a required run rate of just 4, Virat and Rahul clinically performed to guide the team to a victory by 6 wickets.

Winning the toss, Australia chose to bat first. Indian bowlers made Cummins and his co realize that their decision was wrong. Right from the moment go, Indian bowling lineup made life difficult for the Australian batters. They were disciplined with the line and length, and the conditions favoured them. Bumrah drew the first blood by dismissing Mitch Marsh for a duck. Going ahead when the experienced duo of Warner and Smith got going, Kuldeep Yadav did the formalities of sending Warner back to the pavilion, thereby breaking the partnership.

Just when Smith and Labuschagne started to get things in Aussie favour, Jadeja produced the dream delivery for any spinner, rattling the top of off stump. He scalped 3 wickets including the prized wicket of Smith. Ravichandran Ashwin bamboozled the Aussies with his trademark carom ball. Playing on his home ground, he kept tight lines to restrict Aussie runs. Every Indian bowler had at least a wicket to their name at the end of innings. The Aussie innings eventually ended for 199 runs.

It initially looked like it would be an easy win for India, however Australia had different plans. A brilliant delivery to dismiss Rohit Sharma, and some horrendous shots from Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer led to India reeling back at 3 wickets down for just 2 runs. All Indians were reminded of the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand, which was apparently the last match India played in odi world cup before this match. Middle order got exposed to the Aussie lineup right in the first match of the tournament, and the Indian batters needed to do something.

That’s when Virat Kohli and KL Rahul stepped up for the team. They prevented Indian team from the batting collapse scare. The duo showed great composure, and temperament to carry the team forward. They defended the Aussie bowlers well, had their eye in on the pitch, before playing their natural game. And once they started to play their natural game, it was a treat for the cricketing world. The class of Rahul combined with the flamboyance of Virat is a pleasing sight for the eyes, and makes a deadly combination for the opposition.

And doing exactly the same, they started to open their arms. In contrast to initial back foot play, they countered the Aussie attack with confident front foot drives in a little while. The sweetly timed KL Rahul’s drives without over hitting the ball demonstrated his prowess. And Virat’s crunchy on drives did the job of depleting Aussie confidence further. The duo stitched to a partnership of 165 runs stamping their and team’s authority over the match.

Both of them failed to reach to their respective centuries, but eventually helped Indian team clinch on to the first win. While Virat was dropped once earlier in the match, Rahul looked flawless throughout. Which is why he was disappointed to hit a winning six, when he intended to hit a four to give him a chance to reach to his hundred. That shot showed what beautiful touch with the bat he has currently. Probably it was only the first time in cricket when the country as well as player was disappointed after hitting a winning six.

With a tournament like World Cup happening in India, the stakes are already at its peak. Especially knowing the fact that 2011 world cup victory had happened in India itself, the expectations of fans are on a high knowing the tournament is happening in the country again. The fans have already seen a drought of an ICC trophy since 2013 Champions Trophy victory, and hence are desperate to see their team win it this time. And living up to the expectations of the fans, the team has started their campaign with a convincing win. The major issues of all previous world cups, the middle order and bowling were infact the reasons for this first win. Therefore the team looks good to go, and a little firing from the top order, with the continued positives from middle order and bowlers will give the team best chance to clinch the title. Hoping to see it happen.