Under extreme pressure, Rohit Sharma showed examplary courage and scored a run a ball century. Along with Kohli’s quick fire 100- fastest by an Indian – Team India achieved the massive target of 360 set by the Australians. Initially, Propelled by the extraordinary start by the Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, India has amassed 177 runs in 27 overs.
Australian batsmen pounded the clueless Indian bowling and piled up a massive 359 runs.
Australian innings led from the front by their skipper George Bailey (92 not out), the Australian batsmen made merry of a listless Indian attack on a good Sawai Man Singh Stadium track with as many as five of them notching up 50-plus scores.
This incidentally is Australia’s highest total on Indian soil surpassing their previous best of 350 for four in Hyderabad in 2009. This total also equalled their highest ever total of 359 for two against India made during 2003 World Cup final in South Africa as well as 359 for four in a VB Series match in Sydney back in 2004.
Phil Hughes (83), Aaron Finch (50), Shane Watson (59) set up the platform for skipper Bailey and Glenn Maxwell (53) to finish the innings with a flourish.
Indian bowlers conceded 122 runs in the last 10 overs of the innings as Bailey and Maxwell sent the Indian attack on a leather-hunt putting on a staggering 96 runs in only 8.3 overs for the fourth wicket.
Bailey bludgeoned the Indian bowling as he faced only 50 balls in his unbeaten innings, hitting eight fours and five sixes.
Both Ishant Sharma (0/70 in 9 overs) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/54 in 10 overs) lacked penetration as both Finch and Hughes negotiated the duo with ease.
The third seamer R Vinay Kumar was guilty of bowling either too short or only slower deliveries and it only added to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s woes. Vinay (2/73 in 9 overs) had the worst figures among the pacers.
The worst among the Indian bowlers was though left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja (0/72 from 10 overs) and Yuvraj Singh (0/35 from four overs) and the duo gave away 107 runs in 11 overs between them. Ravichandran Ashwin (1/50 from eight overs) fared marginally better.
