India defeat Australia by eight runs in Nagpur ODI
Times News Service
NAGPUR: India beat Australia in the second ODI by eight runs after skipper Virat Kohli scored his 40th ODI century.
Allrounder Vijay Shankar put in a World Cup spot sealing performance as India pulled back an eight-run win over Australia in the second of the five-match series at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Tuesday.
Asked to bat first, Kohli waged a lone battle as he slammed a blistering knock of 116 runs off 120 balls while the wickets kept tumbling at quick interval. Vijay Shankar (46) was the only batsman to share a decent partnership of 81 run with the Indian skipper before the Men in Blue were bundled out for 250.
In reply, the Indian bowlers once again came up with a decent performance, especially Vijay Shankar who held his nerve in the final over to bag two wickets and wrap Australia’s innings for 242.
Virat Kohli, the man of the match said: “When I walk in to bat, when the situation gets difficult, I have no choice but to put my head down and bat through the innings. Exhausted right now. I’m more proud of our second innings than our first. Vijay Shankar batted outstandingly, but he was unfortunately run out and we lost Kedar and MS in quick succession. I was thinking of using Vijay in the 46th over, but I spoke to Rohit and MS, and they said, let’s stick with Shami and Bumrah, and if they get some wickets we’re on top, and that’s exactly what happened. Vijay kept it stump-to-stump, kept it simple, and it worked. It’s always nice to speak to Rohit, he’s the vice captain, MS has been around for so long, and you go and speak to the bowler as well. Invariably they’re all on the same page. Bumrah is a champion, two wickets in an over, just turned the game, happy to have him in our team. Just coming through these kinds of games gives us confident. It’s important to look ugly at times, and come through and win. We might get these lowscoring games in the World Cup as well. This kind of a pitch was tailormade for Kedar Jadhav, he was actually keen to bowl the last over as well. It felt good [to get to 40 ODI hundreds]. It’s just a number, but it feels good to win games for India.”
“I was ready to bowl that over. Only if I do it will people know I can. It was just about being mentally clear, not be crowded mentally. Wanted to hit the hard lengths because it was reversing a bit, and I told myself to bowl at the stumps. I think when you play for the country you have to be ready to do whatever the team needs,” Vijay Shankar said after the match.
“I keep telling myself to work on all aspects of the game, and when the opportunity comes, be ready to grab it. I thought I was timing the ball well, rotating the strike in the middle overs,” he added.