The men in blue started their campaign with an amazing victory against the five-time champions Australia at the Chepauk. Kohli and KL Rahul made a solid recovery partnership which took India out of trouble from a very critical situation. During the partnership Australian captain Pat Cummins bowled an outrageously wide delivery which was given as a no-ball.
While KL and Virat Kohli were spending their time in the middle after a poor start of the chase Pat Cummins delivered a weird delivery. It seemed the player could not grip the ball correctly in his hand which later resulted in an illegal delivery.
Pat Cummins bowls a tramline no-ball
While defending the small target of 200 runs Australia started well by picking India’s first 3 wickets just inside 4 runs. However, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul then started their rebuilding phase in which they saw off Hazelwood’s brilliant spell.
After a tight spell of Hazelwood and Starc, Cummins came into the attack and bowled a loose delivery which resulted in a no-ball. Strangely it wasn’t an above-waist-height delivery neither he overstepped. The No ball was given due to Cummins’s lack of control while bowling.
Pat Cummins bowled a wild No-ball & #ViratKohli makes the most of it 🙌#INDvsAUS | #WorldCup2023 | #CricketWorldCup2023 | #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/G5jvhuHNs4
— CricWatcher (@CricWatcher11) October 8, 2023
The captain of Australia delivered the ball outside the pitch which is according to the MCC rules called a no-ball. However, Cummins didn’t intend to bowl it out there but the ball slipped out of his hands which resulted in a gift for Kohli.
On the free hit delivery, Kohli smashed a low-pace short delivery out of the boundary line for a four. The boundary released a lot of pressure from the Indian side as runs were barely coming then.
Ravi Shashtri mocks Shane Watson after Cummins bowled an audacious delivery
During the live telecast of the match, former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri and Australian all-rounder Shane Watson were sitting in the commentary box. The former Australian allrounder was wanting Cummins not to try something special and go for a miracle ball instead he should hold his line.
Just after his statement, Cummins bowled outside of the pitch wideball after which Ravi Shastri commented “Is this the miracle ball?”
Kohli-KL Rahul 165 runs stand sealed India a famous victory at the Chepauk
The men in blue have started the World Cup caravan on a high note after clinching a hard-fought victory against the title contenders Aussies. After losing the toss Indian team picked Australian opener Mitchell Marsh very early.
After losing an early wicket experienced pair of Smith and Warner showed urgency but their stand was broken by the introduction of Kuldeep Yadav. The Indian spinners made Australian Middle-order life difficult on the slow and dry surface of Chennai.
After dismissing Australia with just 199 runs India started poorly in the chase however, Kohli and KL Rahul steadied India’s ship with their mature innings. KL Rahul was unbeaten at the end with his 97* runs and also got the Man of the Match award.