India Win Run Fest To Square Series

Virat Kohli's record-breaking innings helped India cruise to victory.Action Images / Paul Childs Livepic

India 362-1 (R Sharma 141no) beat
Australia 359-5 (Bailey 92no) by 9 wickets
Second One-Day International, Jaipur
Scorecard

India won a ridiculously high-scoring second ODI against Australia to square the seven-match series at one apiece. The Australians piled up 359 for five from their 50 overs as their top five all passed 50, but India made mincemeat of it.

Openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan powered 176 off the first 26 overs of the run chase, with Virat Kohli then joining Sharma to up the tempo even further. He smashed the fastest century by an Indian in ODI cricket off just 52 balls to ease India home in the 44th over by nine wickets.

Tonight’s chase is the second highest in the 3420-match history of ODI cricket, behind the 438 at Johannesburg.

Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma didn’t appear at all daunted by the huge total that Australia’s batsmen had piled up after winning the toss. Dhawan continued his superb form of late by reaching 50 off 55 balls, while Sharma made 50 off 54 as the 100 came up in just the 17th over.

Australia finally got a wicket with the score on 176 as Dhawan was caught by Brad Haddin off James Faulkner five short of a well-deserved century. However, that only made matters worse as Virat Kohli walked in.

He was with Sharma when he reached a welcome century off 102 balls and did the bulk of the run-scoring in their unbroken second-wicket partnership of 186 in just 104 balls. Kohli reached his century shortly before the end, with Sharma then finishing the match in fitting fashion by pummelling Glenn Maxwell for a hat-trick of boundaries.

Australia’s bowlers took a right battering as four conceded more than eight an over and two - Clint McKay and Shane Watson - went for more than nine.

Earlier in the day, their batsman had done a much better job. Aaron Finch and Phil Hughes began the match in what must rank as fairly sedate fashion in the circumstances, adding 74 in 15.2 overs for the first-wicket. Finch scored 50 of those off 53 balls, with Hughes taking a while to get going. He played the anchor role, hitting 83 off 103 balls, and added 108 with Shane Watson (59 off 53) balls for the second-wicket.

George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell then provided the late impetus and gave a taste of what was to come when Virat Kohli batted. Bailey bludgeoned five sixes en route to 92 not out off 50 balls, while Maxwell smacked 53 off only 32. The pair added 96 in little more than eight overs.

Australia ended on 359 for five, but with the form of the Indian batsmen, even another 100 might not have been enough. The two sides meet again in the third match at Mohali on Saturday.

© Cricket World 2013

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Record-breaking India stun Australia

Second one-day international, Jaipur:

India 362-1 (43.3 overs) beat Australia 359-5 (50 overs) by nine wickets

India pulled off the second-highest run chase in one-day internationals to thrash Australia by nine wickets and level their series at 1-1.

The hosts surged to their target of 360 with 39 balls to spare as Virat Kohli smashed the fastest ODI century by an Indian from just 52 deliveries.

Rohit Sharma struck the winning runs to finish on 141 not out after Shikhar Dhawan weighed in with 95.

The highest run chase is South Africa's 438-9 against Australia in 2006.

India's previous highest successful pursuit was 330-4 to beat Pakistan in Dhaka in 2012.

"I'm not sure what to feel at the moment," said Australia captain George Bailey. "That was some pretty awesome batting.

"It felt like everything we tried with the ball just seemed to go harder and further."

438-9: South Africa v Australia, Johannesburg, 2006

362-1: India v Australia, Jaipur, 2013

350-9: NZ v Australia, Hamilton, 2007

340-5: NZ v Australia, Auckland, 2007

334-8: Australia v England, Sydney, 2011

Batting first, Australia piled up 359-5, with all of their top five passing 50 and Bailey top-scoring with 92 not out off 50 balls.

But India made a blistering start to their reply as Dhawan and Sharma put on 176 for the first wicket in only 26.1 overs.

Kohli upped the ante still further with a brutal knock that featured seven sixes and eight fours as he finished unbeaten on 100.

His innings eclipsed Virender Sehwag's 60-ball record for India and was the ninth-fastest one-day hundred of all-time.

"I just wanted to go out there and play my part," he said. "I was hitting the ball sweetly. I decided to take the pressure and whatever I went for I got in the middle of the bat.

"I've been feeling good mentally and I was fresh for this game. I was ready, and I knew if I held my shape I would connect well.

Kohli also paid tribute to 26-year-old Rohit Sharma, whose third one-day century included four sixes and 17 fours.

"Rohit is by far the best of the young lot as far as talent is concerned," said Kohli.

"Once he gets set and gets going it's very difficult to stop him. He's got every shot in the book and it was a delight to watch from the other end."

Australia won the first match of the series by 72 runs. The third one-dayer in a seven-match series takes place in Mohali on Saturday.

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Yuvraj's Fairytale Return Gives India Victory

Yuvraj Singh was at his majestic best to power India to victory.REUTERS/Vivek Prakash. Picture Supplied by Action Images

India 202-4 (Yuvraj 77no) beat
Australia 201-7 (Finch 89) by 6 wickets
Only T20 International, Rajkot
Scorecard

Yuvraj Singh marked his international cricket return with a match-winning 77 not out in the one-off Twenty20 International against Australia in Rajkot.

India had looked to be slipping in their pursuit of their formidable target of 202 at 100 for four in the 12th over, but Yuvraj - sidelined since January - took the game to the Australian bowlers and, with a little support from his captain MS Dhoni, saw his side home.

As expected, it was a high-scoring game at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, with Aaron Finch continuing his blazing form at the top of Australia’s batting line-up by smashing 89 off just 52 balls. He added a scarcely believable 56 in 29 balls with debutant opener Nic Maddinson.

Maddinson, a 21 year-old with prodigious talent from New South Wales, appeared undaunted by playing the biggest team in cricket, at home, in arguably their favourite format, and smashed 34 off only 16 balls before being bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Australia’s middle-order didn’t build upon their start as effectively as they might have done. They lost Shane Watson and George Bailey in quick succession to Vinay Kumar during the eighth over, although Glenn Maxwell - clearly with an eye on keeping his name in the frame for another big-money IPL deal - played a powerful cameo of 27 off 13 balls that included four sixes.

He fell in the 12th over to make it 124 for four, but Australia’s late charge never really materialised once Finch had been sent packing by Vinay Kumar in the 17th over. It ended another majestic innings from Finch that further cemented his place at the top of Australia’s T20 batting line-up following his record-breaking 156 against England earlier this year.

The 21 balls following his departure yielded a disappointing 27 runs as Australia’s all-rounders struggled to find the boundary in the latter stages. Nonetheless, any team that posts 201 in a T20 game and takes India’s leading bowlers R Ashwin and Ishant Sharma for a combined total of 93 runs from six overs must be pretty pleased with their evening’s work.

It took an innings of brilliance from a slim-line Yuvraj to wipe the smile off their faces. Coming into the series, he had been in good form for India A and India Blue after following a rigorous training regime, and it showed with a remarkable display of clean hitting. 35 balls brought five sixes and eight fours, with his 77 runs taking India across the winning line with two balls to spare. MS Dhoni, content to play second-fiddle at the other end, finished on 24 off 21 balls, with their partnership worth 102 off 51 balls.

The two sides meet again, in the first of seven One-Day Internationals, on Sunday in Pune.

© Cricket World 2013

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Returning Yuvraj fires India to win

Twenty20 international, Rajkot:

India 202-4 (19.4 overs) beat Australia 201-7 (20 overs) by six wickets

Yuvraj Singh, playing in his first international since January, scored an unbeaten 77 as India beat Australia by six wickets in their Twenty20 meeting in Rajkot.

The 31-year-old, who had taken further time off to work on his fitness following cancer treatment last year, reached his total off 35 balls as India passed Australia's 201 with two balls to spare.

The tourists lost momentum after Aaron Finch fell for 89 in the 17th over and did not exploit a promising position.

Seven one-day internationals follow before Australia return home for the Ashes series.

Finch will hope to find greater support from his team-mates when facing England later this year, with fellow opener Nic Maddinson's 16-ball 34 on his international debut one of only two other significant contributions to Australia's total.

But on the day that the legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar announced that he will retire from the game after the Test series against West Indies in November, Yuvraj did his best to steal some headlines.

He hit eight fours and five sixes with Mahendra Dhoni content to let his team-mate, who was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer in 2011 before returning to international cricket last year, take the initiative.

Australia gave themselves hope when Clint McKay lured Virat Kohli into an ill-judged heave that was taken by James Faulkner at long-on to leave the hosts on 100-4 with less than nine overs remaining.

But the visitors were undone as Yuvraj battered his way to his highest score in a Twenty20 international.

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