India won by 6 wkts
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : KL Rahul
Batter
Bowler
India start their World Cup campaign with a hard-fought win. The bowlers delivered but it was the calmness and composure of the middle order that would please Rohit and the management. They were in a spot of bother and two of their experienced batters came to the fore. Australia would look back and feel they were a few runs short but having just one recognised spinner in the squad, especially in these conditions, might come back to bite them. That's all from us. Tomorrow we have the high-flying New Zealand taking on an ever-improving Netherlands. Join us for that game. This is Akshay Maanay signing off on behalf of Saurabh Shankar and Harish. Goodbye..
Here's Ravichandran Ashwin talking to the host broadcasters after the game:
On being picked for this tournament: It was more like a May day call, I was chilling at home, played a couple of club games but Rohit and Rahul [Dravid] had told me that if there is a situation we will come back to you, I just told them jokingly that hope you never come back to me [smiles].
On today's pitch: I played a lot of cricket in Chennai. It is a quite unlike Chennai pitch, with lots of cracks. You saw how Hazlewood and the Aussies bowled in the 2nd innings. We were actually a little concerned at how it would pan out. The crowd always gets behind us here. Thankfully we lost the toss and Jadeja was on a roll after he got the ball.
On him adjusting to today's pitch: It's more than the pace, it's difficult for the bowlers to bowl at a particular speed. It's about getting the sidespin and overspin right, getting my body into position - all of these things. It's about getting that right for me. For me it usually takes about 6-8 balls to get that right.
On how his emotions were when India were 2/3: When I saw Virat Kohli's ball went up in the air, I ran outside the dressing room. I literally ran outside the dressing room, I was like thinking wake me up when it's all over. It's a World Cup game against Australia so you don't expect anything easy. It's a big game and when you are shot for 199, do you think you expected us to coast home. I ran back into the dressing room and the crowd erupted. I stayed in the same place for the entire game. My legs are paining now actually.
On how his performance will be analysed by everyone after today: I need to pick my Whatsapp messages and go on Twitter to find out. But I need to stay out of social media [smiles]. The day I was picked, everyone near my area said you will win us the World Cup. I was like dude... [smiles]
As long as I keep performing for India, I will be happy. I have played for 13 years and want to continue to deliver.
Rohit Sharma | India captain: Pretty exciting. Good feeling to come out on top. It was a good game to start the tournament for us. I thought it was magnificent, especially the fielding and we saw the effort from everyone today, conditions like this it would be tough. Our bowlers used the conditions perfectly and we knew there would be assistance for everyone, even the seamers got some reverse, the spinners bowled in the nice areas and all in all it was a great effort. I was (nervous), you don't want to start your innings like that, credit to the Aussies bowlers as they bowled in good areas but some loose shots as well, when you have that kind of target you want to score as much as possible in the powerplay, but credit to Virat and KL on how they went about the chase. That is going to be the challenge for us as a team, moving to different conditions and adapting, whoever suits the conditions will have to come and do the job. Chennai never disappoints, they love their cricket and for them to sit in that heat and come out and cheer for the team says a lot.
Pat Cummins | Australia captain: At least 50-odd (short with the bat). It was tough, trying to defend anything under 200.. It was a really good bowling attack and their spinners made it tough work out there. I wasn't too upset (with just two spinners), we had 20 overs of spin but some more runs on the board would have made the difference. I have already forgotten about it (the drop catch), it happens, 4/10 would have been a dream start. He (Hazlewood) is a class bowler and poses a lot of questions, stays in that area and was fantastic today. We have to review this one, absolutely a tough surface, but what if we are up against it then how would we do differently. Just one game out of nine, not too much to ponder about but there are some areas we need to get better. No (in hindsight would he have changed his decision at the toss?).
KL Rahul | Player of the Match: (On walking out at 2/3) Quite honestly not a lot of conversation, I thought I’d get a good shower and get a break. I was just trying to get my breath back. Virat said there’s a bit in the wicket, so play like Test cricket for a while. There was a bit of help for the pacers with the new ball, and then the spinners also. In the last 15-20 overs, dew played a part and that helped quite a bit. The ball also skidded on better. However, it was a bit two-paced, it wasn’t the easiest of wickets to bat on and it wasn’t flat as well. It was a good cricket wicket, bit for the batters and the bowlers. That’s what you get in the south of India, especially Chennai. (On the last six) I hit it too well, I just calculated how to get to a 100 in the end. The only way was a four and a six, but no qualms on not getting to that hundred.
Stats shared by Shashikant Singh and Deepu Narayanan
Highest score by Indian WK in ODI World Cup:
145 - Rahul Dravid v SL, 1999
97* - KL Rahul v AUS, 2023*
91* - MS Dhoni v SL, 2011
85* - MS Dhoni v ZIM, 2015
65 - MS Dhoni v AUS, 2015
Lowest score at fall of 3rd wkt to win an ODI match
2 - India vs AUS, Chennai, 2023*
4 - India vs ZIM, Adelaide, 2004
4 - Sri Lanka vs BAN, Mirpur, 2009
5 - Sri Lanka vs NZ, Dhaka, 1998
Spinners today
India: 6/104 in 30 overs (ER 3.46)
Aus: 0/86 in 16 overs (ER 5.37)
STAT: This is only the fourth loss for Australia in 19 World Cup matches in India.
Australia at Chennai in ODI World Cup
Won vs India, 1987
Won vs Zimbabwe, 1987
Won vs New Zealand, 1996
Lost vs India, 2023*
Highest scores for India vs Australia in ODI World Cup
117 - Shikhar Dhawan, The Oval, 2019
100* - Ajay Jadeja, The Oval, 1999
97* - KL Rahul, Chennai, 2023*
Most runs for India in ICC limited-over tournaments
2785 - Virat Kohli (64 Inns)*
2719 - Sachin Tendulkar (58)
2422 - Rohit Sharma (64)
1707 - Yuvraj Singh (62)
1671 - Sourav Ganguly (32)
Most 50+ scores as a non-opener in ODIs
113 - Virat Kohli*
112 - Kumar Sangakkara
109 - Ricky Ponting
102 - Jacques Kallis
Australia's opening match in WC this century:
2003 - Won vs PAK
2007 - Won vs SCO
2011 - Won vs ZIM
2015 - Won vs ENG
2019 - Won vs AFG
2023 - Lost vs IND*
India in WC opening match in this century:
2003 - Won vs NETH
2007 - Lost vs BAN
2011 - Won vs BAN
2015 - Won vs PAK
2019 - Won vs SA
2023 - Won vs AUS*
Where did Australia lose the game? They started so well with their pacers picking up three early wickets and it was the perfect setup for Adam Zampa. Defending a low total, Starc and Hazlewood were right on the money first up and since Zampa was the only recognised spinner, the new ball had to produce wickets which it did but their star spinner had an off game. Rahul went after Zampa in his first over and struck him for three boundaries, the leggie could not recover after that and in a game that was dominated by India's spinners, he finished with 0/53 in 8 overs. The dew also played its part as it came down as India's chase progressed and made it difficult for Australia's bowlers. In the end it turned out a good toss to lose for Rohit and India. Presentations coming up.
21:54 Local Time, 16:24 GMT, 21:54 IST: That was a stroll in the park then, at least that's what the scorecard would suggest. But India, especially Kohli and Rahul, would say it was far from a stroll. They were in a dire strait when Iyer holed out at the end of the second over. Kishan, Rohit and Iyer all gone for a duck, Australia right on top and the score reading 2/3. That's when Kohli and Rahul came together, showed their experience and soaked in the pressure. Kohli was given a reprieve when Marsh dropped him on 12 off Hazlewood, but apart from that the partnership was flawless. They saw off the early burst from the pacers, knocked Maxwell around and then took it from there. Both kept the scoreboard ticking, got to their respective fifties and recorded the highest partnership for India against Australia in World Cups. They should have finished it off but Kohli perished while trying to take on Australia's best bowler - Hazlewood. Rahul was there till the end and he scored the winning runs.
Cummins to Rahul, SIX, India win by 6 wickets. Rahul is down on his haunches in shock. He was surprised by the timing on that, he wanted this to be a four so he could then hit a six to reach his hundred, but the timing was so good that the ball travels all the way denying him a possible shot at a three-figure score. The lights have gone off at Chepauk and some kind of disco lights are being played. It really is a party atmosphere in Chennai. Full delivery outside off, Rahul had the width to free his hands and he smokes it over extra cover, struck it better than he wanted but it does the job for India
Cummins to Rahul, no run, back of a length on off, Rahul stays leg-side and punches to extra cover