Kohli plays the pitch as India’s middle order delivers

Midway through the 33^rd over, Virat Kohli stole a quick look at the scoreboard. It was not the only time he did so as he guided India to a gratifying win over Australia on Tuesday evening. But the moment was significant. A very solid looking Shreyas Iyer had departed and Axar Patel was making his moves. Assessing the match was close to turning India’s way decisively, Kohli made a mental calculation and decided to stick to what he had been doing: knocking the ball into gaps, rotating the strike and keeping the asking rate in sight.

His post-match comment that he felt he was in good nick when he threaded the ball through the inner cordon was echoed earlier by commentators who pointed out that this looks easier that it is. This made Australian captain Steve Smith’s task rather difficult. If he tightened the ring or moved fielders to attacking positions, he risked an on-song Kohli hitting through or over. Juggling an inexperienced attack, he settled for an unsatisfactory compromise of a fielder at deepish mid-on or deep midwicket.

The bait failed to interest Kohli who kept running smoothly between wickets, untroubled by Aussie bowlers while Axar, Pandya and later Rahul stepped up with big hits that made field placements redundant. This was the other aspect of the match, which despite its apparent one-sided nature, was a keen contest of tactics, skill and temperament. Last year, India’s attempts to “take it deep” during the ODI World Cup final at Ahmedabad failed spectacularly, demonstrating just how easily things can go the other way and calls being hailed as prescient can appear quite ordinary.

The lack of penetration in the Australian attack did ease things for the Indians. Experienced and canny bowlers like Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc and Josh Hazlewood might have posed a sterner test, pulling back the length, slipping in slower bouncers, mixing yorkers and exploiting the width of the popping crease. But nonetheless the confidence and panache of India’s batters was a sight for sore eyes after recent setbacks at home and abroad. Right from Iyer who justified the trust in sending him at No 4 to Rahul who has taken his rapid movement up and down the order in his stride, India did well. Axar is fast owning the No 5 slot, displaying a vast appetite for runs.

What Iyer, Rahul and Pandya did was to absorb the pressure and counter-attack in a manner that deepened doubts in the opposition. Their six hitting is phenomenal and any opposition must bear in mind that the course of the game can change quickly if they get stuck in. Ravinder Jadeja did not need to do much, but it reassuring that the capable and gutsy left hander walks in at No 8.

Axar PatelChampions Trophy 2025cricketIndia-AustraliaJosh HazlewoodMitch StarcPat CumminsShreyas IyerVirat KohliWeb Exclusive