The much awaited battle for the No.1 spot in ODI's began in Pune as India took on Australia in the first one day international of the 7 match ODI series. On a lush green outfield, Australia won the toss and chose to bat first, contradictory to Dhoni's decision of bowling first, if he had won the toss.
Indian bowling attack looked good in the first six overs of the match as Bhuvanesh Kumar and Vinay Kumar restricted the dangerous and explosive Australian openers Aaron Finch and Phillip Hughes to just 14 runs. Aaron Finch cut loose in the sixth over of the match as he dispatched Bhuvanesh Kumar for a six straight down the ground followed by two boundaries. Finch and Hughes broke free from the shackles and went on to score 49 of the next six overs.
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| Aaron Finch |
The opening pair shifted gears as they continued scoring runs all round the park. The bowling changes didn't seem to work for team India. Finch dispatched Ishant Sharma's first ball to the fence and in the next over took on Ashwin for a first ball six. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli dropped Phil Hughes at point of Ishant Sharma's bowling. Hughes was then on 32. Finch completed his run-a-ball 50 as Australia reached 100 in the 18th over.
Dhoni was quick in making bowling changes and brought in the left arm off-spinner Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja struck in the 19th over as Suresh Raina held a sharp low catch down the leg slip to send Hughes back to pavilion. Dhoni was quick to realize that the bowl wasn't coming to the bat that easily and brought in Yuvraj Singh from the other end. Shane Watson with all his intentions tried to send Yuvraj's very first ball over the ropes, only to be caught by Jadeja. This was Yuvraj Singh's first wicket since ICC world cup 2011.
Australian captain George Bailey walked in at No.4. Bailey along with Finch steadied the Australian batting as they rotated the strike and hammered the loose balls to the fence. Yuvraj Singh dream comeback continued as he scalped Finch for 72 leaving Australia at 146 for 3. Yuvraj was then responsible for a sharp run out of Adam Voges as Australia stumbled to 172 for 4.
Australia took the mandatory batting powerplay in the 36th over with captain Bailey and Glenn Maxwell at the crease. The score then read 185 for 4. Bailey and Maxwell made full utilization of the powerplay. Maxwell lived up to his reputation of playing big shots when needed while Bailey completed his 50. Maxwell soon departed after a quick fire 31 of 23 balls featuring a boundary and 3 huge sixes.
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| George Bailey |
George Bailey with the lower order made sure that Australia get past 300 run mark as they scored 119 runs in the last 15 overs. Bailey was caught by Raina of Ashwin's bowling for 85 as he tried to fuel the score. Faulkner and Johnson made sure that all the hard work by Finch, Bailey, Hughes and Maxwell doesn't go in vain as they took Australia past 300 run mark. Faulkner dispatched Vinay Kumar for 2 consecutive sixes in the 48th over and Johnson hit two consecutive boundaries of Bhuvanesh Kumar in the 49th over. Faulkner was out for a good catch by Vinay Kumar of Ishant Sharma's bowling in the final over of the innings.
Australia has set a tough target for team India to chase. Given the form that Indian batsmen are in and the depth in their batting, 300 runs chase shouldn't be a difficult task for team India...
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