From Ravindra Jadeja to KL Rahul: India’s top three performers against Australia

Team India secured a brilliant victory against Australia after a woeful start with the bat that saw three of their best batters going down in the blink of an eye. Chasing 200, India crumbled down to 2/3 with Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer falling victim to Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood’s menacing bowling.

However, braving the early cross currents, two of India’s most proficient batters, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli seized the day for the Men in Blue with a couple of extraordinary displays. Virat had an early lifeline after he was dropped by Mitchell Marsh but the former Indian captain showcased his exemplary class and control to put up a match-defining 85 while Rahul stayed unbeaten for a staggering 97 from 115 balls that fuelled India to script a historic win. Here are three of India’s best performers from the memorable win at Chepauk.

1.    Ravindra Jadeja – 10-2-28-3

Before Virat Kohli and KL Rahul could script a sensational turnaround, it was Ravindra Jadeja who had the Australian batters clustered into an almost undoable knot. Bowling first, India had Australia crawling after a fine second wicket stand between Steve Smith and David Warner. Once Kuldeep rammed the gates open with the wicket of Warner (41), Jadeja struck to send Steve Smith (46), Marnus Labuschagne (27) and Alex Carey (0) on their way, also pushing the Australian engine room into a frenzy of terror. Apart from the deliveries to pick up the three wickets, Jadeja proved to be almost unplayable as he was exceptionally frugal that also saw him sending down a couple of maiden overs during his allotment of 10 overs.

2.    Virat Kohli – 85 (116)

Coming out to bat with the team wobbling at 2/3, Virat played a crucial knock to alleviate the fears in the Indian dressing room early on. However, before he could get into his trademark groove, things went slightly awry for the erstwhile Indian skipper as he miscued an effort that was grassed by Mitchell Marsh. Had that been taken, India would have devolved into 20/4. However, keeping the ifs and buts aside, Virat got the memo in no time and started playing a controlled knock from thereon. After getting a life early on, his next boundary came only seven overs later when he flicked Cameron Green for a boundary in the 15th over. He focused more on running between the wickets than scoring in fours and sixes as he scored just six boundaries throughout that match-defining knock of his. Although he missed out on a century and got out on 85, he, along with Rahul, drove India to a position from where a win was just a formality. 

3.    KL Rahul – 97* (115)

They say that a few 97s are more special than the magical three-figure mark. In 2011, Wankhede saw such a special 97 where Gambhir was the architect of India’s rebuilding after slipping into an early rubble while in 2023, on a bright Sunday evening, it was KL Rahul who emerged as hero with an unbeaten for 97 to steer India home from almost an ineluctable mire. Coming out to bat when India wobbled at 2/3, Rahul took his time to get off the early jitters. The shots were hard to come by and the ball moved significantly. Once the initial phase of bother alleviated and with things looking a lot more controlled with Virat set at the other end, Rahul smacked Hazlewood for a wonderful drive on the last ball of the fourth over. 

It took him another seven overs before he could get another four out of his way and this time it was the Aussie skipper, Pat Cummins who found himself in the firing line as Rahul comfortably pushed the cherry through the point and the backward point for his second four. After that it was all about temperament and nerves which were very well controlled by India’s wicket-keeper batter. On the final ball, with India needing 5 runs to get, Rahul went inside out against Cummins, in a bid to collect four runs and stand a chance of getting to a hundred on the next ball. However, the timing of the shot was so perfect that it sailed over the ropes, leaving Rahul gobsmacked while the Indian fans burst into raptures. However, it was a fitting end to one of the best knocks in India’s storied World Cup history.