Ahmedabad: India were bowled out for 240 against Australia on a difficult pitch in the ICC Men's World Cup finals at Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday.
Despite the below par total, India still fancy their chances if the dew does not set in. That's exactly what Mitchell Starc, who picked up 3 wickets for 55, testified.
"Not an easy wicket to bat on, the easiest time to bat perhaps is against the hard new ball and there are runs to be scored and it is not going to be easy, but it is what you ask for, it is a world cup final. What more can you ask for," he told the broadcasters at the innings break.
After winning the toss, Australia captain Pat Cummins put India into bat. Rohit began in his inimitable style, smacking two boundaries in the second over and clobbering a six and a four in the fourth.
Even as Josh Hazlewood was smashed around, his partner Starc managed to taste first blood for Australia in the fifth over as they saw Shubman Gill's end of his mistimed front foot pull.
Both Virat Kohli and Rohit were in no mood to allow Starc to get into his groove after Gill's departure.
Rohit slammed him over long-off for a six and then flicked, punched and cover droove, ensuring the pressure shifts on Australia.
However, India's mutinous zeal froze towards the end of the first powerplay. Rohit mistimed a shot, and Travis Head took an absolute stunner, running back from the covers.
Soon after the first powerplay, the back-to-back century-maker Shreyas Iyer also walked back for 4, edging one to Josh Inglish behind the stumps.
After the early blows, Kohli and KL Rahul went into rebuilding mode. Cummins made several bowling changes to get a breakthrough, but India ambled through into the mid-innings without losing any wicket
Cummins kept ringing in the changes amongst his bowlers to get a breakthrough, however, India managed to get to the mid-innings mark without another loss.
Kohli got to his fifth consecutive fifty of this tournament, and India appeared to pick up pace, but Cummins produced a beauty by pitching a short one to Kohli who played on to his stumps.
This dismissal pushed India into the defensive mode yet again. Ravindra Jadeja, who was sent ahead of Suryakumar Yadav, plodded around along with Rahul who reached his fifty in the 35th over mark.
As the ball started to reverse swing, Australia's pacers found greater help from the wicket. Hazlewood struck in the 36th over, getting Jadeja to nick one behind the wicket.
India eventually reached their 200 in the 41st over. The team needed a push to get them to a solid total.
But wickets kept on falling, and Jasprit Bumrah was next to depart, trapped in-front by Adam Zampa, who finished with 1/44 from his ten overs.
And the silence was deafening at the stadium when Hazlewood picked up the key wicket of Suryakumar, who had bided his time until the last three overs before look to go big, only to top edge one to the keeper.
The final-wicket pair looked to boost India in the death overs, and they took their team to 240 when Kuldeep Yadav was run out coming back for a second off the final ball of the innings.
Apart from Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins bagged two wickets each and Zampa and Maxwell bagged a wicket each. (UNI)
