Twitter Reactions: KL Rahul's determined half-century downs Australia in low-scoring 1st ODI
The Indian lower middle order came to the rescue for the home side on a bowling-friendly track in Mumbai.
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The Men in Blue prevailed in a hard-fought contest in front of a full house at the Wankhede to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. Australia, who were rolled over for a below-par total in the first innings, gave the home side an almighty scare before KL Rahul's masterful half-century, coupled with Ravindra Jadeja's gritty knock, took India home with five wickets to spare.
Despite putting up an underwhelming performance with the bat, Steve Smith's Australia made an absolute match of it, thanks to a brilliant performance by the Aussie seamers with the new ball. Ishan Kishan's dreadful run in white-ball cricket continued as he was dismissed cheaply in the second over of the chase.
India's wobbly start turned into a nightmare after Mitchell Starc made the ball talk to dismiss Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav on consecutive deliveries. The home side slumped further in the contest after Shubman Gill's charmed stay at the crease was also ended by the Australian left-arm pacer.
Australia were all over their opponents in the match, but the hosts found respite via a counterattacking partnership between KL Rahul and skipper Hardik Pandya. Momentum changed hands yet again after Hardik was sucked into playing a pull shot, leading to his downfall. But the all-rounder's dismissal did not perturb a determined KL Rahul, who stitched another valiant stand with Ravindra Jadeja.
The wicketkeeper-batter cut loose after registering his 13th half-century in the 50-over format, while Jadeja kept the scoreboard ticking from the other end and put an end to the proceedings with a boundary in a match-winning unbroken 108-run stand for the sixth wicket.
Indian bowlers fightback after Mitchell Marsh's explosive half-century
It was India's stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya, who won the toss and elected to bowl first on a Wankhede pitch that had a tinge of green. His decision was rewarded instantly as Mohammed Siraj drew first blood for the home side, dismissing the explosive Travis Head in the second over of the series opener.
Even though the Indian pacers were getting a fair amount of assistance from the surface, the duo of Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh ensured a strong first ten overs for the Men in Yellow. Smith, who looked in decent touch, threw his wicket away after chasing a wide delivery from his opposite number.
But there was no stopping Marsh from the other end, who seemed to be batting with a vendetta on his return from an ankle injury. The tall all-rounder was quite severe on any width offered by the Indian bowlers, especially against left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav. An inspired bit of bowling from Ravindra Jadeja saw India claw their way back into the contest as Marsh departed after a swashbuckling 81 off just 65 deliveries.
His dismissal, coupled with a fine second spell from veteran Indian pacer Mohammed Shami witnessed a horrible batting collapse from Australia as they lost their last seven wickets for 49 runs to bundle out for a below-par total of 188 runs. The Indian fast-bowling duo of Shami and Siraj shared six wickets between them and were at the heart of Australia's demise in the first innings.
Here is how Twitter reacted to KL Rahul's sublime half-century that took India home in a low-scoring affair:
@BCCI
3K
274
@ICC
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@thebharatarmy
523@thebharatarmy
43319
@Cricketracker
2037
@WasimJaffer14
2K78@BCCI46350
@venkateshprasad
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