Australia need just 241 runs to win the World Cup after bowling India out thanks to brilliant performances with the ball at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Australia won the toss and decided to bowl first, with India overcoming the early loss of opener Shubman Gill to reach 76/1 thanks to the quick scoring of captain Rohit Sharma.
But Rohit (47 from 31) and Shreyas Iyer (four off three) both went in the space of four balls, the former thanks to an excellent catch from Travis Head, and India were in trouble all of a sudden with just over 10 overs gone.
In came KL Rahul, and he steadied the ship alongside a vital half-century from Virat Kohli to help India to 148 before Kohli was bowled by Pat Cummins. The scoring had slowed dramatically, though, with India going 97 balls without a boundary following the end of the 10th over, largely thanks to excellent work in the field by Australia.
Hazlewood got his second in removing Ravi Jadeja for just nine off 22 balls, before Rahul’s innings finally came to an end in the 42nd over having added 66 runs to India’s total from 107 deliveries, scoring just one four during his time at the crease.
Innings Break!#TEAMINDIA post 2⃣4⃣0⃣ on the board!
6⃣6⃣ for KL Rahul
5⃣4⃣ for Virat Kohli
4⃣7⃣ for Captain Rohit SharmaOver to our bowlers now 👌
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— BCCI (@BCCI) NOVEMBER 19, 2023
In fact, India managed just two boundaries between the 11th and 40th overs, the joint-fewest in a men’s ODI since 2014, and Cummins finished with two wickets at an economy of just 3.4, while Mitchell Starc also starred by dismissing three Indian batsmen during his 10 overs.
The tail largely failed to wag, with Mohamed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah both going without making it to 10, though Suryakumar Yadav did add 18 important runs to give India hope before Hazlewood struck again to remove him.
The last two standing, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav were only able to tack on another 14 runs before Kuldeep was run out with the final ball of the innings to leave India all out for just 240.
It means India’s bowlers have it all to do if they are to win the World Cup for the first time since 2011, while Australia will fancy their chances of a successful run chase to lift the trophy for the fifth time in seven editions despite the difficult pitch and the hosts’ prowess with the ball.
