Men in Blue started their ODI World Cup campaign with a terrific win over Australia on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Chasing an average target of 200, team India went through an early batting collapse. But veteran batters Virat Kohli (85) and KL Rahul (97*) produced masterclass performances to reconstruct the Indian innings and helped their side clinch a 6-wicket win over the Aussies. Rahul was honored with the Player of the Match award for his brilliant knock.

Batting first, Australia faced an early setback as Jasprit Bumrah removed hard-hitting Mitchell Marsh for a duck. David Warner and Steve Smith took Australia to a solid position by adding 69 runs for the second wicket. Kuldeep Yadav gave India the crucial breakthrough by dismissing Warner (41). Ravindra Jadeja then bowled a superb turning delivery to clean up Smith for 46.

Jadeja removed Marnus Labuschagne (27) and Alex Carey (0) to put the Aussies on the back foot in his next over. Much expected Glenn Maxwell failed to score big as Yadav bowled him out for 15. Ravichandran Ashwin then dismissed the dangerous Cameron Green for just 8. Aussie captain Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc chipped in with 15 and 28 respectively, helping their side to reach a decent total of 199.

In reply, the Aussie bowlers stunned and silenced the Indian fans by picking up three wickets in no time. Starc dismissed Ishan Kishan for a golden duck while Josh Hazlewood sent back Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer for ducks in the second over. However, Kohli and Rahul took the responsibility and batted well with patience. Once settled, both the batters started to dominate the Aussie bowling and scored runs freely, adding 165 runs for the fourth wicket and taking India home.