Cricket News
WATCH: Hardik Pandya leaves conversation midway as Virat Kohli gives inputs during 1st ODI against Australia
India locked horns against Australia in the first of the three-match ODI series on Saturday. The first encounter of the series was played at the Wankhade Stadium, in Mumbai. India won the second game by five wickets and Ravindra Jadeja was awarded Player of the Match for his all-round performance.
The second match of the series will be played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajashekhara Redddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Vishakapatnam, while the third final encounter of the series will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
India’s regular skipper Rohit Sharma missed out due to personal reasons in the first ODI of the series. In the absence of Hitman, Men in Blue stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl first. And for the visitors, in the absence of regular skipper Pat Cummins, Steve Smith led the side.
Meanwhile, a clip from first innings has gone viral on social media, in which Pandya, Virat Kohli and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav could be seen discussing about the field placing. However, surprisingly, Hardik leaving the conversation even before Virat finishes with his input. The video has been doing the rounds on the internet. You can watch it here:
Watch it here:
— CricAddaa (@cricadda) March 17, 2023
KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja take India to victory
Batting first, Australia were bundled out for 188 runs in 35.4 overs. The highest run-scorers for them was all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, who scored 81 runs off 65 balls with 10 fours and five sixes. Kangaroos wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis and Smith also contributed some runs but failed to convert those into big ones. Inglis scored 26 runs off 27 balls with one four and one six each, whereas, on the other hand, Smith scored 22 runs from 30 balls with four fours.
For the hosts, the pick of the bowlers was seamers, Mohammad Shami and Mohammad Siraj as they grabbed three wickets each during their spells. Jadeja also grabbed two wickets in his spell of nine overs and conceded 46 runs. Besdie, one wicket each was taken by Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav.
While chasing a mere target of 189 runs, India lost half of their side for the score of 83 runs in 20 overs. Then came Jadeja to support the star India batter KL Rahul. They both together built up a partnership of unbeaten 107 runs. Rahul played an unbeaten knock of 75 runs off 91 balls with seven fours and a six, while on the other hand, the Chennai franchise all-rounder scored an unbeaten knock of 45 runs from 69 balls with five fours.