Two heavyweights for the tournament, India & Australia slugged it out at The Oval, with the Men in Blue winning convincingly over the Men in YellowGreen in a blockbuster weekend match.
Winning the toss & electing to bat on a flat surface, Indian openers, Shikhar & Rohit were up against a tight length & line of hostile bowling by Starc & Cummins, managing only 41 runs in the first 10 overs - but they weathered the storm before chancing their arms against the next change bowlers. Coulter Nile was despatched for three boundaries in one over, as the flood gates opened up - the opening pair yielded 127 runs, before Rohit got out for a well made 57 runs. Meanwhile, Dhawan, rapped hard on his left thumb by a Cummins bouncer, braved the pain & raised 93 runs with Capt Kohli, to lay a solid foundation for India & also get to his 3rd century at Oval, before getting out for a fabulous 117, as Hardik Pandya made way to the crease. Kohli & Pandya identified the weak spot in Aussie bowling & plundered Stoinis & Zampa for 112 in 13 overs. Capt Kohli got to his 50th ODI half century, getting 82 runs, while Hardik blitz yielded 48 runs. Dhoni & Rahul too chipped in with short cameos, as India scampered to a mammoth total of 352 for 5, as the hapless Aussies gave away 116 runs in the last 10 overs - it was one too many. A masterclass batting performance for sure.
In reply, Australia seemed to have luck on their side, when in just the 2nd over of the innings, opener Warner dragged a Bumrah delivery to his stump, without disturbing the bails - however, this did not spur the Aussie batting, as runs came in a trickle. Finch got run out for 36 when he was looking good in the 14th over & Smith walked into the cauldron. Along with Warner he put up 72 runs, but the chase was getting out of hands gradually, as Warner scratched to his slowest fifty ever, before holing out in the deep, as the required run rate kept climbing. Khawaja tried his best with a run a ball 42, as Maxwell was next in, with Smith keeping one end tidied up. Sensing the urgency, as now or never, Maxi & Smith threatened to cut loose, but Bhuvi, in the 40th over got Smith LBW & then bowled Stoinis to virtually kill the chase. Maxi got out in the very next over, trying to haul Chahal, & Jadeja, substituting for Dhawan, ran from the deep, taking an excellent running & tumbling catch - three big wickets gone in the space of seven deliveries, as Australia stared into an ominous defeat. Carey, tried boldly with some lusty hitting & reaching the fastest fifty of the tournament till now, but it was too late in the final outcome. Coulter Nile, who had smacked a record breaking 92 off 60 deliveries in the match against the Windies, could not read the cleverly bowled slowers by Bumrah & holed out eventually. Tailenders could not contribute, as Cary was left unbeaten for a superb 55 off just 35 deliveries & the mighty Australians were bowled out for 316, leaving the Men in Blue, victorious by 36 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was outstanding with the ball claiming 3 crucial wickets for just 50 runs in his 10 overs - in a match where 668 runs were scored, to manage runs at 5 an over was priceless.
I think, Aussies missed the plot, allowing too many runs in the death overs, & then while chasing, let the asking rate pile up - Warner's slow batting hurt, as also Maxwell & Smith getting out when they were threatening - every one in the top order barring Stoinis got a start, but could not convert into a big hundred. Also, the fielding was below par for the normally resolute Aussies, especially dropping Pandya on nought, who went onto score 48 runs.
Shikhar Dhawan was the obvious choice for the Man of the Match award.
India will take home a whole lot of positives, while the Aussies will be ruing this loss for a while.
Winning the toss & electing to bat on a flat surface, Indian openers, Shikhar & Rohit were up against a tight length & line of hostile bowling by Starc & Cummins, managing only 41 runs in the first 10 overs - but they weathered the storm before chancing their arms against the next change bowlers. Coulter Nile was despatched for three boundaries in one over, as the flood gates opened up - the opening pair yielded 127 runs, before Rohit got out for a well made 57 runs. Meanwhile, Dhawan, rapped hard on his left thumb by a Cummins bouncer, braved the pain & raised 93 runs with Capt Kohli, to lay a solid foundation for India & also get to his 3rd century at Oval, before getting out for a fabulous 117, as Hardik Pandya made way to the crease. Kohli & Pandya identified the weak spot in Aussie bowling & plundered Stoinis & Zampa for 112 in 13 overs. Capt Kohli got to his 50th ODI half century, getting 82 runs, while Hardik blitz yielded 48 runs. Dhoni & Rahul too chipped in with short cameos, as India scampered to a mammoth total of 352 for 5, as the hapless Aussies gave away 116 runs in the last 10 overs - it was one too many. A masterclass batting performance for sure.
In reply, Australia seemed to have luck on their side, when in just the 2nd over of the innings, opener Warner dragged a Bumrah delivery to his stump, without disturbing the bails - however, this did not spur the Aussie batting, as runs came in a trickle. Finch got run out for 36 when he was looking good in the 14th over & Smith walked into the cauldron. Along with Warner he put up 72 runs, but the chase was getting out of hands gradually, as Warner scratched to his slowest fifty ever, before holing out in the deep, as the required run rate kept climbing. Khawaja tried his best with a run a ball 42, as Maxwell was next in, with Smith keeping one end tidied up. Sensing the urgency, as now or never, Maxi & Smith threatened to cut loose, but Bhuvi, in the 40th over got Smith LBW & then bowled Stoinis to virtually kill the chase. Maxi got out in the very next over, trying to haul Chahal, & Jadeja, substituting for Dhawan, ran from the deep, taking an excellent running & tumbling catch - three big wickets gone in the space of seven deliveries, as Australia stared into an ominous defeat. Carey, tried boldly with some lusty hitting & reaching the fastest fifty of the tournament till now, but it was too late in the final outcome. Coulter Nile, who had smacked a record breaking 92 off 60 deliveries in the match against the Windies, could not read the cleverly bowled slowers by Bumrah & holed out eventually. Tailenders could not contribute, as Cary was left unbeaten for a superb 55 off just 35 deliveries & the mighty Australians were bowled out for 316, leaving the Men in Blue, victorious by 36 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was outstanding with the ball claiming 3 crucial wickets for just 50 runs in his 10 overs - in a match where 668 runs were scored, to manage runs at 5 an over was priceless.
I think, Aussies missed the plot, allowing too many runs in the death overs, & then while chasing, let the asking rate pile up - Warner's slow batting hurt, as also Maxwell & Smith getting out when they were threatening - every one in the top order barring Stoinis got a start, but could not convert into a big hundred. Also, the fielding was below par for the normally resolute Aussies, especially dropping Pandya on nought, who went onto score 48 runs.
Shikhar Dhawan was the obvious choice for the Man of the Match award.
India will take home a whole lot of positives, while the Aussies will be ruing this loss for a while.
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