India skipper says controlled aggression helped batsmen chase Australia's 359/5
India trio Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan put on a batting masterclass as they chased down a huge target of 360 to win a run-laden second one-day international against Australia by nine wickets.
Virat Kohli (left) and Rohit Sharma are all smiles after India’s nine-wicket win over Australia in Jaipur yesterday. Pics/Sunil Sharma
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Australia looked set to take a 2-0 lead in the seven-match series after compiling 359 for five batting first at Jaipur.
However, India’s top three Sharma (141 not out), Kohli (100 not out) and Dhawan (95) put Australia's bowling attack to the sword in brutal fashion as the hosts romped home with over six overs to spare.
Kohli’s 52-ball knock, which included seven sixes and eight fours, was the fastest ODI century by an Indian and seventh fastest ever.
Dhawan was no slouch either as he collected 14 boundaries before falling just short of his ton when he edged the 86th ball he faced, bowled by James Faulkner, behind to Brad Haddin, who had earlier dropped the opener off a leading edge when he was on 18.
Rohit Sharma celebrates after reaching his century. Pic/Sunil Sharma
The wicket brought an end to an opening stand of 176 in 26. Earlier, it the Indian attack struggled against some brutal batting as Australia, who won the first ODI by 72 runs after running up 304, set what had appeared to be a tough target.
Skipper Bailey led the from the front with 92 off just 50 balls, including five sixes and eight fours, while Phil Hughes (83), Shane Watson (59), Glenn Maxwell (53) and Aaron Finch (50) also scored big.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hailed this as one of the performances from his young side. “This has got to be one of the best. Irrespective of the rule changes, field restrictions and the pitch, 360 was still going to be a tall chase.
Shikhar batted very well, Kohli was amazing, Rohit got a big knock. What you have to be aggressive, but what’s important is that you don’t have to slog,” added Dhoni.
Australia captain George Bailey was at a loss for words. “I’m not sure what to feel at the moment. That was some awesome batting.”
Scorecard
Australia
A Finch run out (Raina) 50
P Hughes c Dhoni b Ashwin 83
S Watson c I Sharma b Vinay 59
G Bailey not out u00a092
G Maxwell run out (Raina/Kumar/Dhoni) 53
A Voges c Kumar b Vinay 11
B Haddin not out 1u00a0
Extras (lb5, W5) 10
Total (5 wkts, 50 overs) 359
Did not bat: J Faulkner, M Johnson, C McKay, X Doherty
Fall of wickets: 1-74, 2-182, 3-212, 4-308, 5-347
Bowling:
B Kumar 10-0-54-0
Ishant Sharma 9-1-70-0
R Vinay Kumar 9-0-73-2
Ravindra Jadeja 10-0-72-0
R Ashwin 8-0-50-1
Yuvraj Singh 4-0-35-0
India
R Sharma not out 141
S Dhawan c Haddin b Faulkner 95
V Kohli not out 100
Extras (lb5, w21) 26
Total (1 wkt, 43.3 overs) 362
Did not bat: S Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, B Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, I Sharma
Fall of wickets: 1-176
Bowling:
M Johnson 9-1-68-0
Clint McKay 7-0-64-0
Shane Watson 5-0-47-0
Xavier Doherty 10-0-70-0
Glenn Maxwell 5.3-0-48-0
James Faulkner 7-0-60-1
India won by 9 wickets u00a0
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