IND vs AUS, ICC World Cup 2019: Dhawan's ton & Kohli, Rohit fifties power India to 352

IND vs AUS, ICC World Cup 2019: India posted 352/5 in 50 overs; their highest total against Australia in World Cups

The Indian batters went with all guns ablaze at the Oval on Sunday when they took the field against Australia in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Fifties from Rohit Sharma &Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan’s century followed by cameos from Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni helped the men-in-blue posting a mammoth 352/5 on the board. The Aussies need 353 to win. After having chosen to bat first, India went off to a decent start as the duo of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan stitched a century stand for the opening wicket. While Dhawan went berserk, Rohit played a calm knock on the oval track. In the 18^th over, Dhawan brought up his maiden fifty in the ongoing World Cup off 53 delivers. A couple of overs later, Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma slammed the second consecutive 50-plus score of the tournament. He notched up his half-century off 61 balls. The Indian openers continued troubling the Aussie attack until the 23^rd over when Nathan Coulter-Nile struck to draw the first blood and sent back Rohit to the dressing room. The HITMAN edged a delivery which was rising off the deck and ended up getting caught by stumper Alex Carrey. Rohit’s dismissal was a short-timed joy for the Aussies as it only brought skipper Virat Kohli at the middle. The Indian skipper thoroughly supported in-form Dhawan who was inching towards his 3rd World Cup century.

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While Kohli took his time to get settled at the crease, Dhawan notched up the three figures in the 33^rd over. It was his 17^th ODI hundred which he scored off 94 balls. The pair added 93 runs to the 2^nd wicket before Mitchell Starc got hold of Dhawan in the 37^th over. Pandya was promoted to No. 4 to push the run rate up, and the wiry all-rounder did not disappoint, helping India plunder 57 runs between overs 40 and 45. Pandya missed out on a chance to score the fastest fifty for an Indian at the World Cup as he sliced a Cummins full toss to Finch at covers. In the last five overs, with Kohli getting his full range after an uncharacteristic stuttering start, India bludgeoned another 59 runs with Dhoni smashing the likes of Starc from the word go. It seemed nothing could go wrong for the Men in Blue as K.L. Rahul also hit one four and a six in his brief stay at the end, remaining unbeaten on 11 off just three deliveries. India: 352/5 in 50 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 117, Virat Kohli 82, Rohit Sharma 57).