With the help of superb century from Virat Kohli and two solid fifties from Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina Indians able to chase down the target of 290 runs with ease during first ODI played at Vizag to take unbeatable series lead of 1-0. Chasing a huge target of 290 runs for victory, India got off to disastrous start by loosing the debutant opener Shikhar Dhawan in the very first over and then M.Vijay who looked solid during his stay of 15 runs off 18 balls with just 35 runs on the board. However a superb partnership between Virat Kohli (118 runs off 121 balls) and Yuvraj Singh (58 runs off 87 balls) of 137 runs for the third wicket put India right back on track and then brilliant quick-fire 84 runs partnership between Suresh Raina (71 runs off 47 balls) and Kohli for the fourth wicket made sure that India will be the winner when game is over. Quick loss of centurion Virat Kohli and M.S.Dhoni first ball duck do created some panic in the end but another debutant S.Tiwary (12 runs off 17 balls) and Suresh Raina kept their cool to guide India home with more than a over to go. Earlier M.S.Dhoni after winning the toss put Australia into bat and his decision was well supported by pace bowler Ashish Nehra who first cleaned up S.Marsh and then removed Tim Paine in quick succession to put India right on top in the 8th over, but Clarke (111 not out runs from 138 balls with seven fours and one six) and Hussey (69 runs off 77 balls) steadied the ship putting on 144 runs together for the 3rd wicket. At one stage Australians were struggling to even put 250 runs on the board but some superb hitting by Vice-captain Cameron White (89 from 49 balls with six fours and six huge sixes) spurred the Australians scoring as they went on to score 72 runs in the last six overs of play and 49 runs in the batting powerplay. Indian bowlers Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar and Vinay Kumar all three of them got lots of hammering in the end as they failed to bowl a tight line and length against M.Clarke and C.White which helped both of them to score freely in the end. The win also helped M.S.Dhoni to register his 50th victory as an Indian Captain and he became only third captain for India to achieve that feat. Virat Kohli was declared Player of the Match for his superb 118 runs off just 121 balls. Match Summary (India Won by 5 Wickets) Australia Inning– 289/3 in 50 Overs M.Clarke- 111* C.White– 89* A.Nehra– 10-1-57-2 R.Ashwin- 9-0-34-1 India Inning– 292/5 in 48.5 Overs V.Kohli- 118 S.Raina– 71* C.McKay– 10-0-55-3 J.Hastings- 10-1-44-2 |
