Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan was adjourned Man of the match for his century against Australia on Sunday. He along with Rohit Sharma laid a solid foundation for Indian batting during first innings.
Virat Kohli decided to bat first after winning the toss. Initially the duo were cautious in their approach, but later on increased run rate quickly. It was a clear strategy from India and they executed to it to perfection.
Shikhar Dhawan made century, while Rohit Sharma hit half century. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli played anchor role in the latter phases of the games. Cameos from Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni and KL Rahul propelled India’s score over 350.
Chasing a mammoth 353, Australia started off slowly. Openers tried to mirror Indian innings but Finch was run out. David Warner never really got off and scored a slow fifty. On the other hand, Steve Smith made sure that Australia remained in the game.
But Bhuvneshwar Kumar turned the game on its head by picking Smith and Stoinis in the same over. Eventually, India won comfortably at the end.
“We are happy with the result as it was a great team effort. It’s a great sign for our team and I’m happy with this man of the match award. Very happy with the performance overall. We are a great fielding side, we took great catches. We have a good bowling side, great spinners as well.”
The southpaw was quick to point out the amount of hard work India puts in the nets. The training sessions are paying off as they looked superior side against Australia.
“We work really hard in the nets, our process is very strong that’s why the results are going our way. We ticked all the boxes today.”
Australia did fight hard until the end, but India were superior in all three departments.
Maxwell played some big hits in the end to give Australia hopes. Even Alex Carey did his best to bring the game close. However, Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar masterclass in the death, helped India to an easy win at the end.
“We knew they are a great side and the match will go down to the wire. We need to continue ticking the boxes in upcoming matches. The fans are having a great time and they’ll be happy with this win.”
Indian fans definitely enjoyed the day. India did justification to their favorites tag once again. Even then, a tough task in New Zealand waits ahead for India on Thursday.