Records tumble as Rohit, Virat & Shikhar help India chase down 359 with 39 balls to spare
Brevity is a virtue if shown at a time not required, can be fatal. Australia found that out the hard way on Wednesday.
It was the eight over of Indian innings and the score was 40 for no loss in 7.4 overs, they were chasing a humongous 360 for win. Shikhar Dhawan tried to heave a Clint McKay delivery only to get an edge. The ball went high in the air towards square-leg and could have been an easy catch for the fielder there but Australian wicket-keeper Brad Haddin chose to call for the catch. To his horror he dropped and that’s when everything changed. Dhawan was batting on 18 then.
The left-hander took two runs of the dropped catch and one from the next to retain the strike. He hit the next three deliveries of the next over bowled by Shane Watson to the boundary signalling change of luck. As chants from ‘Dhawan, Dhawan’ to ‘Rohit, Rohit’ and finally to ‘Kohli, Kohli’ were all over the Sawai Man Singh stadium here on Wednesday, India did the unthinkable by overhauling the target with as many as 6.3 overs and nine wickets to spare as records tumbled one after the other. History was made in historic Pink City.
If Australia made the mark of top-five scoring half centuries, India could have had three centuries to shatter that. Dhawan got out for 95 as Rohit Sharma remained unbeaten on 141 and Virat Kohli created an Indian record by making a hundred in just 52 balls to remain not out on 100 and in the process breaking the record of his Delhi teammate Virender Sehwag created in 2009 against New Zealand.
The score is also the highest successful run chase by India and the two partnerships, of 176 between Dhawan & Sharma and unbeaten 186 between Sharma & Kohli, are also the highest for two wicket in a single ODI.
Man of the Match Rohit was a happy man after his highest score in ODIs. “Till now it is my best innings. The crowd today was amazing and it was a very good day for us. 360 was a big score but we knew that with field restrictions having only five fielders in the ring, any score is chase-able. Plus Jaipur is a good wicket to bat on. We also had very good partnerships which only helped,” he said during the press conference after the match.
Hapless in the field but brilliant while batting, the Indian batsmen did not know if they should ever stop going at over eight runs an over for most of the time as they hit 38 fours and 11 sixes to annihilate the Australians completely. For the visitors, the lowest economy rate was Mitchell Johnson’s 7.55 and the rest read the sorry tale of 9.14 and 9.40 by McKay and Shane Watson respectively, followed by 7, 8.72 and 8.57 to Xavier Doherty, Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner, in that order.
Earlier, incidentally, 359 is the same score that the Australians had posted more than ten years back during the 2003 World Cup final at Johannesburg against India. Only Yuvraj was a player common to both matches. Now, it is their highest score against India in India, in Australia, scored in Sydney in 2004, and on a neutral venue but India’s nine-wicket means it will also pinch them.
The herculean task in front of the hosts was the result of a combine of shoddy Indian bowling and fielding. Fielders weren’t at the right places while the bowlers bowled short to the merry of men in yellow.
A new world record of top five batsmen scoring fifties was created by the visitors with captain George Bailey being the top-scorer with unbeaten 92. The Aussie innings was versatile. It had an anchor in Phillip Hughes, 83 from 103 balls with eight fours and a six off Ravindra Jadeja over mid-wicket.
Then, there was a run-a-ball effort from fellow opener Aaron Finch 50 from 53, Shane Watson’s power-packed 59 had three sixes and six fours and once again he preferred the mid-wicket boundary for most of his hits. If the spinners pitched the ball short, they were punished in what was a typical Watson in Jaipur show.
The Aussie top-three’s effort helped put up an encouraging 212 for 3 in 37.2 overs when Hughes got out. Finally, Bailey and Glenn Maxwell did what the situation required. Captain’s effort came from just 52 balls while Maxwell 52 came from 32 balls. Their partnership of 96 from 51 balls gave the Aussies the required thrust to bat India out of the game.
The Indian bowling was once again taken to task. And, whenever they were attacked, they fell apart. Ishant Sharma (70 runs in nine overs) and Ravichandran Ashwin (50 runs in eight overs) together gave away 120 runs in 17 overs and full tosses and short-pitched stuff were their answers whenever challenged.
Of the five wickets that felt, two were run-outs, one brilliantly done by Suresh Raina to get rid of Finch, told the story. Yuvraj Singh also had a forgettable day bleeding 35 from 4 while Jadeja cost India 72 in his ten.
Brief Scores
Australia: 359/5 (George Bailey 92 not out, Phil Hughes 83, Shane Watson 59, Glenn Maxwell 53, Aaron Finch 50; R Vinay Kumar 2/73, R Ashwin 1/50) lose to India: 362/1 in 43.3 overs (Rohit Sharma 141 not out, Virat Kohli 100 not out, Shikhar Dhawan 95; James Faulkner 1/60) by 9 wickets.
Figuratively
52 balls taken by Virat Kohli to score his century is the least by any Indian batsmen
3 number of times Australia have scored 359 against India. Australia also scored 359/2 in the 2003 World Cup final at Johannesburg and 359/5 at Syndey in 2004. It is Australia’s highest total against India in India. Australia's previous highest total in India was 350/4 at Hyderabad in 2009
176 runs added by Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma for the first wicket is a new record of opening partnership for India against Australia. Previous best was between Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, who added 175, at Kanpur in 1998
362is India’s highest chase in ODIs. India’s previous best was 330 against Pakistan. It is also India’s highest total against Australia. Their previous best was 354/7 at Nagpur in 2009
9 wickets victory against Australia is India’s biggest in terms of wickets. India's previous biggest wins over Australia in terms of wickets was by eight wickets at Melbourne in 1985 and 1986