India defeated Australia by six wickets in their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 opener on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Opting to bat, the Aussies posted 199/10, with Indian spinners keeping things under wraps. Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindran Jadeja, and R Ashwin claimed six scalps between them, conceding 104 runs from 30 overs. For the Aussies, nobody went on to get a fifty-plus score on what was a rare occasion.
In response, the hosts were rocked by Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, being reduced to 2/3. Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer were dismissed for ducks. However, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul produced a masterclass after that, stitching a record-breaking stand and helping India win the match. Kohli scored a valiant 85 as Rahul remained unbeaten on 97. Here, we decode the key records that were broken in this match.
1000 World Cup runs for David Warner
Australian opener David Warner scored 41 for his side before perishing against Kuldeep. Warner, who needed eight runs to clock 1000 World Cup runs, became the fourth Aussie with this feat. He also became the third-highest scorer for Australia in the World Cup by surpassing Mark Waugh (1004). Warner has raced to 1033 runs from 19 games at 60.76. He owns a strike rate of 97.17.
Warner becomes the fastest to 1000 World Cup runs
Warner is now the fastest to 1000 World Cup runs. As mentioned, he took just 19 innings, having displaced India’s Sachin Tendulkar and former South African captain AB de Villiers, who took 20 innings each. Notably, Warner’s average of 60.76 is the highest among batters with at least 1000-plus runs at the event.
Maxwell gets to the 3500-run milestone in ODIs
Aussie all-rounder Glenn Maxwell missed out on a big score. However, the all-rounder surpassed 3,500 ODI runs. Maxwell, who scored 15, has got to 3510 runs at an average of 33.42.
Jadeja scripts a host of records
Indian all-rounder Ravindran Jadeja claimed a solid three-for and was the pick of the Indian bowlers. He became only the second Indian to complete 100 international wickets against Australia at home. Jadeja joined Harbhajan Singh, who owns 105 international wickets against Australia at home.
Jadeja now has the third-most wickets in India vs Australia ODIs (37). He overtook former India pacer Ajit Agarkar, who owns 36 wickets in this regard. Kapil Dev (45) and Mohammed Shami (38) occupy the top two spots, respectively. Meanwhile, as per Cricbuzz, Jadeja’s 3/28 are the best bowling figures by an Indian spinner against Australia in an ODI World Cup match.
Forgettable batting records for Australia and India
Steve Smith was Australia’s top scorer in the match (46). As per statistician Bharath Seervi, this is the first time in 40 years that the Australian batters failed to score a 50-plus against India in an ICC Cricket World Cup match, full innings being completed.
India’s Kishan, Rohit, and Iyer scored ducks as mentioned. It is only the second time both Indian openers have got out for ducks in a World Cup match. The first such instance was against Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup.
Meanwhile, this is the first time in India’s ODI cricket history that three of the top four batters have been dismissed for ducks.
Starc becomes the fastest to 50 World Cup scalps
Australian pacer Mitchell Starc became the fastest to 50 World Cup scalps. He reached the milestone with his first wicket in the form of Kishan. Starc took 19 innings to the feat and broke the record held by Lasith Malinga, who took 26 innings.
Overall, Starc became the fifth bowler to attain 50 World Cup wickets. Besides Malinga (56), he joined Wasim Akram (55), Muttiah Muralitharan (68), and Glenn McGrath (71).
2nd left-arm pacer to claim 50 World Cup scalps
Starc joined the legendary Akram to become the second left-arm pacer in the game to claim 50 World Cup scalps. Before this match, Starc was tied with former Sri Lanka pacer Chaminda Vaas (49 scalps) among left-arm pacers.
Starc surpasses Malinga’s power play record
Starc owns a stellar 74 ODI scalps in the power play overs (1-10). Notably, he has surpassed Malinga in this record at the second place. He is now the outright second-highest wicket-taker in power play in ODIs. New Zealand’s Trent Boult leads the show with 87 scalps.
1000 ODI runs at home for KL Rahul
Indian versatile batter KL Rahul shined with a match-winning score of 97*. Rahul now owns 2388 runs in ODIs at over 47. Rahul has been in strong form since his return from injury. Notably, Rahul has also surpassed 1000 ODI runs on home soil. He needed 31 runs to script the milestone.
Virat Kohli achieved this record at Chepauk
Indian talisman Kohli achieved a massive feat at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. In nine ODI matches here, Kohli has now amassed 422 runs at over 42. He has one ton and four fifties. Kohli has now become the top scorer in ODIs at Chepauk. He has surpassed MS Dhoni, who managed 401 runs here.
3rd player with this record in India-Australia ODIs
Kohli now owns 2313 runs in India versus Australia matches. He averages over 53 and is the third-highest scorer. Notably, Kohli has become the third player with 200-plus fours in IND-AUS matches. Sachin (330) and Adam Gilchrist (209) are the two other batters with this record.
2nd-highest stand against Australia in World Cup history
Kohli and Rahul added 165 runs for the fourth wicket. As per ESPNcricinfo, it’s now the best stand for India for any wicket against the Aussies in World Cup history. It’s also the second-best stand against Australia by any side at the World Cup.
World record for Kohli
Kohli has now scored more runs in successful chases than any other player in the ODI history. He has gone past Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli has scored 5517 in 92 innings, whereas Sachin managed 5490 in 124 innings.