Serving up painful memories of past demons - the 2017 Champions Trophy final, the 2019 World Cup semifinal, and a group-stage tie against Pakistan in the 2020 T20 World Cup - Australia was on the verge of dismissing India four down for just 21 after Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc dismissed Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Shreya Iyer for ducks. A few overs later, Hazlewood created a good opportunity to get the better of Virat Kohli when the former India captain top-edged a short ball, but Australia blew the opportunity due to a lapse in communication between Mitchell Marsh and wicketkeeper Alex Carey. Kohli went on to smash 85 off 116 deliveries and share a record 165-run stand with KL Rahul, who made an unbeaten 97, as India chased down 200 with 52 deliveries to spare.
Batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, on the other hand, does not regard that dropped catch, when Kohli was on 12, as a major factor for Australia's six-wicket loss in the World Cup encounter on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Taking to social media, the 2011 World Cup winner believes the visitors lost the plot when captain Pat Cummins chose to bat first. He also stated that the Australians missed a left-arm spinner in Ashton Agar, who was previously ruled out of the event due to a nagging calf ailment.
"After winning the toss, I was surprised to see Australia bat first." The Indian bowlers put in a strong performance to keep them to 199. "Australia got off to a good start, but I felt they lacked a left-arm spinner on this surface," he remarked.
Sachin also made a special mention of Kohli and Rahul's record stand, which enabled India recover from 2 for 3 in the second over of the innings.
"Our victory was sealed by the partnership of Virat and Rahul. They took their time and were able to pull off some spectacular images. In the second half of the game, the ball certainly came onto the bat much better. "Congratulations to #TeamIndia on a strong start," he continued.
Earlier this week, at the opening of the competition in Ahmedabad, where Sachin hoisted the World Cup trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the former India opener predicted that India will reach the quarterfinals.
"I hope so, because our team is playing good cricket, and if the team continues to keep things simple and stick to basics, they have the ammunition," the International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement. "We have a strong batting order, a very good all-round bowling attack, and good balance."
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