India batting mainstay Virat Kohli crossed a new milestone during the India vs Australia 2023 ODI World Cup match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday. Virat took a brilliant catch off pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's bowling to become the Indian cricketer with most catches as a fielder in ODI World Cup history. Virat got to 15 catches in the World Cup, surpassing legendary India leg-spinner Anil Kumble, who has 14 catches in the marquee 50-over tournament. 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev and 2011 World Cup winner Sachin Tendulkar are next in the list with 12 catches apiece. (Scorecard | Match Blog | Streaming)
Virat combined superbly with Bumrah to provide India the crucial early breakthrough in the form of Australia opener Mitchell Marsh, who was sent back to the pavilion for a six-ball duck. The wicket came in the third over of the innings with just five runs on the board. You can watch the splendid Virat catch below.
Australia have since consolidated, and senior statesmen David Warner and Steve Smith were at the crease at the time of writing this report.
Earlier, Australia skipper Pat Cummins opted to bat first after winning the toss in what is the World Cup opener for both sides. In-form India opener Shubman Gill, who is down with dengue, could not recover in time and left-handed Ishan Kishan has been drafted in as his replacement.
"He (Shubman Gill) hasn't recovered in time. Ishan comes in to replace him, he will open the batting," India captain Rohit Sharma said at the toss.
Rohit himself became India's oldest captain in ODI World Cup cricket when he walked out for toss with Cummins. Rohit, who as on Sunday is 36 years and 161 days old, overtook former India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, who captained the national cricket team in the 1999 50-over World Cup at the age of 36 years and 124 days.
