IND Vs AUS, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Virat Kohli, KL Rahul Star In India's Big Win Over Australia - As It Happened

India beat Australia by six wickets to begin their ICC World Cup campaign with a win in Chennai today. Chasing a tricky target of 200 runs, India lost early wickets but half-centuries from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, who stitched a 165-run stand, ensured a relatively comfortable win -- completing the chase in 41.2 overs -- over fellow title favourites. Earlier, India bowled out Australia for 199 following a disciplined effort with the ball. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (3/38) did most of the damage with his middle-over blows. Steven Smith top-scored for the Aussies with 46 off 71 balls, while David Warner made 41 from 52 balls. Australia captain Pat Cummins opted to bat first after winning the toss. Catch highlights of the IND vs AUS cricket match here. (Scorecard | Full Coverage | Match Report)

That's All from Our Side!

India won the match by 6 wickets!

INDIA WINS!!

9:50 pm: KL Rahul hits the winning runs!
Virat Kohli unfortunately gets out and misses his 48th ODI century but KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 97 and finished the things with a six. Hardik Pandya is there with him on the crease. India won the match by 6 wickets.

IND - 201/4 (41.2)

9:15 pm: Kohli and Rahul nearing India to a comfortable win
Virat Kohli 85*(112) and KL Rahul 75*(101) have made it possible after three early wickets of India. Both have looked comfortable in playing spin and pace. Australia still can change the spectrum of the match with a few consecutive wickets. But for now, both batters are set and eyeing to remain not out till the win. The partnership is of 165 runs now off 211 balls.

IND - 167/3 (37)

8:15 pm: Virat and KL soak the pressure!
Virat Kohli 44*(67) and KL Rahul 43*(61) have not given any chance to Australia to take control of the game. Both batters have run the game with singles, doubles and boundaries in between. Australia is desperately searching for the wickets here. Australia needs a breakthrough here otherwise the match would slip from their hands. The partnership between the batters have reached 88*(126).

IND - 90/3 (23)

7:30 pm: India settling down!
Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are taking the game to the deep. Both players are taking their time to settle in. Kohli is dropped by Mitch Marsh on Josh Hazlewood's over. Every Indian took a sigh of relief there. Both teams are in control. Australia is still on top. 

IND - 38/3 (13)

6:40 pm: Horrible start for India!
You can never underestimate Australia in cricket. Australia gets early breakthroughs to push India on the backfoot in the first two overs. First, Mitchell Starc gets the wicket of Ishan Kishan and then Josh Hazlewood gets the wicket of captain Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer. India struggling now. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul at the crease.

IND - 5/3 (3)

Innings Break!!

Target Set for India - 200 runs in 300 balls

Quick Recap:
Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. They started well but could not convert a slow but good start into a big partnership. India played three spinners and all three completed their 10-over quota. Ravindra Jadeja took 3 wickets and Kuldeep got 2. Eventually, the Australian innings ended at 199 after all batters returned to the pavilion. Steven Smith was the highest scorer with 46 runs off 71 balls for Australia. Now India needs 200 runs in 50 overs to win this match. 

6:00 pm: Indian bowlers dominated the Australian batters
Indian bowlers especially the spin trio of Jadeja, Ashwin and Kuldeep did not leak runs and kept building pressure on the Australian batters which resulted in the batting collapse from the Australian side. Starc contributed some valuable runs in the end but Steven Smith 46(71) was the highest run scorer from the Australian side. Jadeja took 3 wickets, Kuldeep and Bumrah took 2 and Ashwin, Siraj and Pandya got one wicket each. 

AUS - 199/10 (49.3)

5:15 pm: Spinners ruling in Chennai
It has been a bad day for Australia so far. Indian spinners have trapped Australian batters in their web. Kuldeep Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja trio gave the opponents no easy chance and kept taking wickets in between. Australian batting has collapsed. Only tailenders are left on the pitch. Starc is with Captain Pat Cummins on the crease.

AUS - 160/7 (41)

4:05 pm: Australia going slow for runs
Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith are making runs with a very low run rate on a slow pitch in Chennai. They are making runs with a run rate of just above 4. Australia needs to make quick runs as it is only 23 overs left in the innings and they are only 2 wickets down. Australia can take risks now to score runs. Good bowling from the Indian side so far. Need a few more wickets otherwise Australian middle order can take the game from any situation. And Australia lost another wicket!! Smith departs after making 46(71). Glenn Maxwell is the new batter at the crease.

AUS - 110/3 (27.1)

3:20 pm: India gets another breakthrough
David Warner gets dismissed by caught and bowl off Kuldeep Yadav's delivery. Marnus Labuschagne is the new batter. Steven Smith is looking in good touch. India have managed to stop the Australian batters from scoring big runs. 

AUS - 75/2 (17.3)

2:30 pm: Change in bowling for India!
Mohammad Siraj bowls a maiden over and India brings Hardik Pandya for the first bowling change and rests Bumrah after his 3-over spell. Australia is looking for runs. Indian fielders are alert on the ground and not making any mistakes. Injury check for Pandya as the ball hit his right hand's finger when he tried to stop David Warner's straight boundary.

AUS - 20/1 (6.3)

2:15 pm: Bumrah Strikes Early!
Jasprit Bumrah bowled a good length ball and Marsh got beaten by the pace, Kohli caught a beautiful diving slip catch. Marsh goes without making any run. Steven Smith is the new batter.

AUS - 6/1 (3.2)

2:02 pm: Australia's batting starts!
David Warner and Mitch Marsh are out on the crease to open the batting for Australia. The ball is in Jasprit Bumrah's hands. India is in search of early wickets. Australia starting slow. Good over by Bumrah, only 1 run off the over.

AUS - 1/0 (1)

1:42 pm: Toss Update
Australia won the toss, elected to bat first

Teams:

Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Head to Head in ODI World Cup - (IND-AUS)

Matches - 12     Tied - 0

India  4 - 8  Australia

Squads

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Shubman Gill.

Australia: David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Sean Abbott, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis.