KL Rahul finally got his mojo back and unleashed a superb knock as India beat Australia by five wickets in the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday (March 17). Putting a halt to his lean patch, Rahul scored 75 off 91 to help India chase down a 189-run target with 61 balls to spare. But it wasn't easy for Rahul when India were once reeling at 39/4. With Indian wickets tumbling at the other end, it was Rahul who steadied India's boat. India lost Ishan Kishan (3 off 8), Shubman Gill (20 off 31), Virat Kohli (4 off 9) and Suryakumar Yadav (0) in a span of 10 overs. Skipper Hardik Pandya too walked back to pavilion after scoring 25 off 31 to leave India teetering at 83/5. But Rahul came to India's rescue and paired up with Ravindra Jadeja to stitch together 108-run winning partnership.
Meanwhile, the 30-year-old also revealed the turning point of the match. Rahul said that as soon as Jadeja walked into the pitch he started getting loose ball which actually worked in India's favour.
'The minute the left-hander walked in, I got a few loose ball. That happens to the best of bowlers. The left-hander walking in and that worked for us. Jaddu batted beautifully and he runs hard between the wickets. He is in great form and he knows what to do in those situations," Rahul said after the match.
“Saw three wickets fall down early, Starc was swinging the ball well and when he brings the ball back in, he is a dangerous bowler. Just tried to play normal cricketing shots. Got a few boundaries away and that settled my nerves. I batted with Shubman, Hardik, and Jadeja. The talk was that there’s help on the wicket but we did not want to get into our shell and play out a certain bowler. We wanted to be positive and put the loose balls away. If we are good with our footwork, we could do well and it was fun batting with Jadeja. When we started off, I didn’t think the pitch will help the bowlers that much. Once Shami came back for his second spell, he did wonders. Any team that wants to win needs to pick wickets in the middle overs. When there’s bounce, I like keeping wickets. It is a bit of a challenge when it is slow and low, it is challenging physically. The ball was moving around and I enjoy playing here at the Wankhede,” Rahul further added.
Earlier, India bowled out Australia for 188. Stand-in skipper Pandya won the toss and elected to field first and his bowling unit, led by Mohammed Shami (3/17), fired at the Wankhede Stadium to finish off Australia's innings in just 35.4 overs. Mohammed Siraj also got three wickets. Opening in place of the injured David Warner, Mitchell Marsh top-scored for Australia with a 65-ball 81, but the rest, including skipper Steve Smith, failed to make any worthwhile contribution.
India lead the three-match series 1-0 and will next face Australia in the second ODI on March 19.
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