India Vs Australia: MS Dhoni, Hardik Panyda Power Hitting Lift Men in Blue after early Jolts
Sep 17, 2017 at 5:46 PM
The hosts India set a target of 282 on Sunday for Australia, in the first match of the five match series at M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai while riding on the late blitz from calm and composed character Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Dhoni scored 79 off 88 deliveries, as his innings included four boundaries and two maximums which came at the fag end of the innings.
The Ranchi-born batsman Dhoni was eventually dismissed in the final over, after being caught by David Warner, on the bowling of James Faulkner.
India posted 281 for 7 on board, which further saw Bhuvneshwar Kumar posting a handy knock of 32 from 30 deliveries, as his unbeaten innings included five boundaries.
For Australia, the pick of the bowlers was fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile, who bagged three wickets after conceding 44 runs in his quota of 10 overs. At the other end, Marcus Stoinis claimed wickets.
Moreover, James Faulker and slow-bowler Adam Zampa picked wicket apiece.
In his 302th ODI, Dhoni brought-up his 66th fifty, however it was on the slower side, before he shifted the gear — to score runs at pace in the dying overs of the first innings.
The fifties from supremely talented Hardik Pandya and Dhoni has brought India right back into the game after early hiccups which saw the visitors enjoying the opening stage of the game.
The all-rounder Pandya and Dhoni have had shown significant promise to build on the major partnership after India was reeling at 87 for five in 21.3 overs.
(Read Also: IND vs AUS 2017, 1st ODI: Twitter Reacts as Pandya’s Blitz, Dhoni’s Calmness Save India’s Day)
Pandya-Dhoni forged a partnership of 118 runs for the sixth wicket to shift the momentum in host’s favour after top-order had a flop-show in the day-and-night fixture.
In 37th over of the Indian innings, the right-handed batsman Pandya, clean as a whistle, smashed three consecutive sixes on the bowling of leg-spinner Adam Zampa.
In his 66-ball 83-run knock, Pandya smoked five sixes and five boundaries respectively while registering his fourth half-century in 22nd ODI.
The promising prospect Pandya was aiming to go downtown, was eventually dismissed by Zampa after top-edge found James Faulkner stationed at the short third man.
In the afternoon, while making early inroads, Australian bowlers particularly Nathan Coulter-Nile, who bend his back and set-up the hosts top-order batsmen to fall in his trap while allowing the white-ball do the talking on a seemingly alive surface.
The hostile opening burst saw the hosts were 11 for three in 5.3 overs.
The 32-year-old Kedar Jadhav, who spent quality time at the crease to score 54-ball 40 was caught on the bowling of Marcus Stoinis by Hilton Catrwright at the midwicket after the ball ballooned up in the air while talking the upper-part of the willow.
Following the early stutter, the makeshift opener Rohit Sharma also chipped in to build-up the partnership alongside Kedar Jadhav, as he eventually fell to a short-ball ploy of Marcus Stoinis.
Rohit-Jadhav posted 53 runs for the third wicket, before opening batsman opted for a hook which further took the top-edge of the bat, as the ball went straight down to the throat of Coulter-Nile, who completed a simple catch at deep square leg region.
The right-handed batter scored 28 off 44 balls, as his innings included three boundaries.
In the same over, after thick outside of the bat, Manish Pandey was caught by gloveman Matthew Wade, as the former straightaway referred the decision to third umpire. However, the TV replays suggested it was a clean catch.
Pandey faced two balls and was eventually dismissed on naught after returning without scoring.
On the very first ball of sixth over, Men in Blue skipper Virat Kohli, who has been in rollicking form, trudged off the ground after Maxwell claimed a breathtaking one-handed stunner at backward point while jumping to the perfection.
The right-handed batsman was dismissed on duck after facing four deliveries; as he went on to slice the ball to find acrobatic Maxwell.
The first man to go was Ajinkya Rahane, who came to bat with Rohit Sharma after Shikhar Dhawan forced himself out for the first three One-day internationals, in order to attend his unwell wife Ayesha Mukherjee, who is scheduled to undergo surgery this week.
In fourth over, the right-handed batsman Rahane opted for a drive on a wider delivery which took the healthy edge of the bat – to settle in the gloves of Matthew Wade.
Rahane returned to the pavilion after scoring five off 15 deliveries.
Earlier, in the afternoon Virat Kohli decided to bat first after winning the toss while revealing it’s a good wicket to bat on adding the wicket might get slower to bat on, in the second-half of the game.