The Indian team was made to toil hard in its opening game of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against Australia on a slightly tricky surface in Chennai on Sunday, October 8. Chasing 200 runs, India were reduced to 2/3 before Virat Kohli and KL Rahul stitched a record-breaking 165-run partnership for the fourth wicket to not only repair the damage but also show the tenacity of the middle order coming back from a tough situation to chase down the total with ample time and overs remaining.
Ishan Kishan, skipper Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer all got out for a duck in a first instance of three out of the top four batters not troubling the scorers in men's ODIs. While Rohit played an over and Iyer got out on his third delivery, Kishan was dismissed for a golden duck by Australian pacer Mitchell Starc in the very first over. Overall Kishan became the 7th Indian opener to get out on a duck.
Kishan, who replaced ill Shubman Gill at the top of the order for India, chased a full and wide delivery from Starc which swung further away from him and handed a simple catch to Cameron Green in the first slip. Kishan became the first Indian opener to get out for a golden duck in World Cup history.
There is a question over Gill's availability for the second game against Afghanistan as well given his bout with dengue fever. Hence, if Gill misses the Wednesday game in Delhi as well Kishan will continue to play as an opener and will hope to do well. Also, given how the South Africa-Sri Lanka match went in the capital, it seems a belter has been prepared for the tournament and the Indian batters will be keen to go big after a grind in Chennai.
All 10 teams have played once and the fight for the top four sports begins now.
