Scorecard | Match in Pics | India's top ten ODI run chases
Rohit Sharma too got a century while Shikhar Dhawan missed his by five runs as the hosts, undaunted by a mammoth-like target of 360, won the second ODI against Australia quite comfortable by nine wickets to square the seven-match series 1-1.
Ruthless, merciless, savage, brutal... you would fall short of adjectives to describe the Indian batting as Dhawan, Sharma and Kohli scripted this stunning win, more than making up for some mediocre bowling on a batting paradise.
India finished the apology of a contest in 43.3 overs, stamping their authority in a resounding manner. Sharma and Kohli shared an unconquered second wicket partnership of 186 runs. These runs came in just 17.2 overs. This is one knockout punch that Australia will find hard to digest.
Australia might have erred in electing to bat first. They perhaps did not take the threat of dew seriously.
Incidentally, this is the second highest successful run chase ever in the history of one-day internationals, only behind the amazing victory scripted by South Africa over Australia in 2006, overhauling 434.
Highest successful run chases in ODI history | ||||
Team | Score | Overs | Opposition | Ground |
South Africa | 438/9 | 49.5 | Australia | Johannesburg |
India | 362/1 | 43.3 | Australia | Jaipur |
New Zealand | 350/9 | 49.3 | Australia | Hamilton |
New Zealand | 340/5 | 48.4 | Australia | Auckland |
Australia | 334/8 | 49.2 | England | Sydney |
New Zealand | 332/8 | 49.0 | Australia | Christchurch |
Australia | 330/7 | 49.1 | South Africa | Port Elizabeth |
India | 330/4 | 47.5 | Dhaka | |
329/7 | 49.1 | England | Bangalore | |
Zimbabwe | 329/9 | 49.5 | New Zealand | Bulawayo |
You need self-belief to chase a 360-run target. India had plenty of that as Dhawan and Sharma led the show with a 176-run first wicket partnership. Dhawan did enjoy his share of luck too, being dropped by Aussie wicketkeeper Brad Haddin when he was on 18.
Sharma, though, did not need any luck. However, he had to overcome cramps for his unbeaten 141. Kohli made another statement of his talent, with a blinder of a 100 not out, which had seven sixes and eight boundaries. With the foundation having been laid for him, Kohli just launched into the onslaught as he would in a T20 game.
The required run-rate was still close to 8 when Kohli walked in. Ten overs later, it was below six. That should tell you the supreme faith that he has in his ability. However, it was Sharma and Dhawan who did the ground work at a stage when Mitchell Johnson was hurling down the new ball at 150kmph. Not only did they keep those thunderbolts away, but scored briskly too. Their approach came from a self-belief that the task wasn't really impossible.
Fastest ODI Hundreds by Indians | |||||
Runs | Balls | Player | Opponent | Ground | Year |
100* | 52 | Virat Kohli | Australia | Jaipur | 16/10/2013 |
125* | 60 | Virender Sehwag | New Zealand | Hamilton | 11/03/2009 |
108 | 62 | Mohammad Azharuddin | New Zealand | Baroda | 17/12/1988 |
138* | 64 | Yuvraj Singh | England | Rajkot | 14/11/2008 |
101 | 66 | Suresh Raina | Hong Kong | Karachi | 25/06/2008 |
146 | 66 | Virender Sehwag | Rajkot | 15/12/2009 | |
105 | 68 | Yusuf Pathan | South Africa | Centurion | 23/01/2011 |
100 | 69 | Virender Sehwag | New Zealand | Colombo | 02/08/2001 |
219 | 69 | Virender Sehwag | West Indies | Indore | 08/12/2011 |
124* | 71 | Sachin Tendulkar | Zimbabwe | Sharjah | 13/11/1998 |
Australia's mammoth score was made possible by two contrasting innings and three side shows, which exploited the shortcomings in India's bowling department. While Phil Hughes (83) teased runs out of the Indians, George Bailey (unbeaten 92) was a show of brute power. Aaron Finch, Shane Watson and Glen Maxwell provided the side shows, too scoring half-centuries, making it a rare instance when all the top five batsmen have score 50 or more in an ODI innings.
Fastest ODI centuries | |||||
Player | Runs | Balls | Match | Venue | Year |
Shahid Afridi | 102 | 37 | Pakistan vs Sri Lanka | Nairobi | 1996 |
147* | 44 | South Africa vs Zimbabwe | Potchefstroom | 2006 | |
117 | 45 | West Indies vs Bangladesh | Dhaka | 1999 | |
Shahid Afridi | 102 | 45 | Pakistan vs India | Kanpur | 1999 |
Sanath Jayasuriya | 134 | 48 | Sri Lanka vs Pakistan | Singapore | 1996 |
Kevin O'Brien | 113 | 50 | Ireland vs England | Bangalore | 2011 |
Virat Kohli | 100* | 52 | Jaipur | 2013 | |
The Australian innings also sent statisticians scurrying to update their sheets. This incidentally, is the highest score by Australia on Indian soil (dwarfing the 350 for 4 in Hyderabad, 2009). This is also the third time that Australia have scored 359 against India, a shared highest.
Although credit goes to the Australians for using the conditions well, Indian bowlers would be looking back with a lot of disappointment. They were clearly not up to the mark. That doesn't matter now as India's confidence eventually won over Australia's calculations.
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