Ashton Agar and Mitchell Starc help Adam Zampa to dismiss Virat Kohli in the Rajkot ODI

After having suffered the ignominy of a ten-wicket shellacking at the hands of the Australia at the Wankhede Stadium, all eyes were on Virat Kohli’s men as to how they would respond to the hammering in Rajkot.

And, just like the first game, Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to put India in. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan gave the hosts a steady start but when Adam Zampa got rid of the Mumbaikar, all eyes were skewed on India’s dressing room in anticipation of who would come out to bat at No.3. And to everyone’s ecstasy, normal business restored as Kohli took guard against Zampa at his preferred spot.

Adam Zampa had got the Indian captain four times prior to the second ODI, and the leg-spinner had also fired a warning to Kohli ahead of their duel in Rajkot. The Indian captain was pretty watchful against Zampa, even as he dealt the other bowlers with disdain.

But in a bid to attack the leggie in his final over, Kohli proceeded to mistime the lofted shot, and it took the tag-team of Ashton Agar and Mitchell Starc for Australia to finally see the back of the Indian captain after he was looking set [78 off 76 balls] for his 44th ODI hundred.

KL Rahul’s late assault helps India recuperate after Virat Kohli’s dismissal

Kohli’s wicket came in the 44th over and when it was followed by the dismissal of Manish Pandey, fears of another Indian collapse galore among the Indian fans. But, then, KL Rahul, in an audacious display of hitting against the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, went on to rack up a game-changing 52-ball 80; one that helped the Men in Blue to post a challenging total of 6-340 after 50 overs.

Earlier in the day, Shikhar Dhawan dazzled his way to a whirlwind 96, squashing all the detractors that were calling for his head. The southpaw looked at his free-flowing best from the outset. He was particularly brutal against the spin duo of Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa and was the key to India getting a move on in the middle-phase.

Kohli 0⃣-2⃣ Zampa

Brilliant piece of work in the field by Agar & Starc to get #KingKohli out for 78.#BattleOfEquals #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/YiIkV1RDVb

— Hotstar Canada (@hotstarcanada) January 17, 2020