Guts, gusto and gumption. A lot of it and much more was on display here on Wednesday when India beat Australia by five wickets in the second one-day international. Virat Kohli, laid low by a muscle pull, embodied that spirit and came out with a fighting century. Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina joined forces to reiterate the point that no total is big enough for them if they apply themselves.
Apply they did and the five-wicket win was achieved with a surgeon’s dexterity, accuracy and professionalism. The performance also showed that nothing really interests this team than winning. Only skipper MS Dhoni failed to join the party.
Losing two early wickets while chasing 290 was not an ideal start but Kohli and Yuvraj kept the early setbacks behind them and built the innings brick by brick, run by run.
Yuvraj, under scrutiny for his fitness, form and attitude, sent out a message to the selectors that the World Cup without him can only be at India’s peril. His 87-ball knock was worth more than 58 he made. His 137-run stand with Kohli was the foundation on which Raina and Saurabh Tiwary achieved India’s win.
India have now taken an unbeatable lead in the three-match series. The man of the day, however, was Kohli. In a near run-a-ball 118, he showed a lot of character, courage and conviction. Semi-fit but he was up to the tall task. He exploded at the right time to rev up the chase. In an entertaining essay of enchanting strokeplay, Kohli outshone the newly-installed lights at the YS Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium here. He proved to be the difference between the teams. Kohli batted as if he was having a net session. He played shots all around the ground.
Like in the nets, he did not have to run — Shikar Dhawan did that job for him with elan. There were no run-outs in the Indian innings. Later, Raina came and hurried things up with a 47-ball 71. His nine fours and one six gave the Indian chase the much-needed fillip.
Nothing was left to the last over. India won with an over and one ball left.
The stadium here was a place for home team backers. But when Cameron White batted, it was difficult for the Vizagites to be partial. On Wednesday afternoon, he displayed batsmanship of breathtaking audacity. After a rather staid start, Australia got to an imposing total thanks to White’s unbeaten 89 achieved with a strike rate of 181. The Indian bowlers had little clue about how to stop him as he unleashed a flurry of boundaries. He hammered 64 off just 21 balls as the last five overs saw 84 runs conceded by the home team bowlers. The last 10 overs went for 114 runs.
Vinay Kumar was at the receiving end of White’s rampage. The Karnataka bowler had often applauded White’s batting at Royal Challengers Bangalore. But here he realised in a hard way how difficult it was to bowl to the Aussie. Once White launched his onslaught, the Aussies were unstoppable. In the company of skipper and centurion Michael Clarke, White toyed with the attack and wrested initiative and momentum for his side.
At one stage, India hoped to give themselves a target of around 250 but ended up conceding 289. But then Kohli, Yuvraj and Raina proved that they were ready to chase even 50 runs more.
