Virat Kohli's fastest ton scripts India's historic win vs Australia

Jaipur:  An inspired India pulled off an incredible nine-wicket victory over Australia in the second cricket one-dayer on Wednesday, achieving the second highest ever run chase in ODI history.


Scorecard

Chasing an mammoth victory target of 360 on a belter of a track at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, India crossed the line with 40 balls to spare as records tumbled like nine pins. This is also India's highest ever successful run chase as the hosts restored parity 1-1 in the seven-match series. (Highlights)

Rohit Sharma (141 not out), Virat Kohli (100 not out) and Shikhar Dhawan (95) were the main contributors for India.

Score	Team	Vs	Overs	Ground	Year
438/9	South Africa	Australia	49.5	Johannesburg	2006
362/1	India	Australia	43.3	Jaipur	2013
350/9	New Zealand	Australia	49.3	Hamilton	2007
340/5	New Zealand	Australia	48.4	Auckland	2007
334/8	Australia	England	49.2	Sydney	2011

Virat Kohli (100 not out) took a more than decent Australian attack to the task with a fastest ever ODI century by an Indian and seventh fastest in the world, scored in only 52 balls.

Player	Runs	Balls	Match	Venue	Year
Shahid Afridi	102	37	Pakistan vs Sri Lanka	Nairobi	1996
MV Boucher	147*	44	South Africa vs Zimbabwe	Potchefstroom	2006
BC Lara	117	45	West Indies vs Bangladesh	Dhaka	1999
Shahid Afridi	102	45	Pakistan vs India	Kanpur	1999
ST Jayasuriya	134	48	Sri Lanka vs Pakistan	Singapore	1996
KJ O'Brien	113	50	Ireland vs England	Bangalore	2011
Virat Kohli	100*	52	India vs Australia	Jaipur	2013

This is his 16th ODI century in 115 matches. His innings had eight fours and seven sixes.

Rohit Sharma (141 not out from 123 balls) got a well-deserved third ODI century while Shikhar Dhawan (95) again showed love for anything Australian but was unlucky to miss out on a ton.

It was a match where the Australians created a world record with their five top batsmen scoring half-centuries but the Indian batsmen proved they were better on the night.

The Australians now have the ignominy of ending second best in two highest run-chases having faced similar fate against Herschelle Gibbs' South Africa seven years back, when they failed to defend a mammoth score of 434.

Indian batting's 'Gen-Next' troika showed why they are not afraid of any target and reasserted India's supremacy in the 50-over format.

While bowling continues to be a worrying factor for skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he should at least feel happy that Kohli along with Rohit and Shikhar are ready to take the legacy of Indian batting forward in the next decade.
The victory was built on two partnerships. An opening stand of 174 between Dhawan and Rohit followed by another 186 runs scored in only 17.2 overs between Rohit and Kohli. The duo put on 100 runs in only 62 balls.

The chase practically started in the ninth over when Dhawan, in his bid to break the shackles, hit Shane Watson for three successive boundaries.

In the next over from Clint McKay, Rohit got a couple of boundaries more as 26 runs came off these two overs. While Dhawan repeatedly charged out to the pacers piercing the off-side cordon, Rohit used field restrictions to good effect by lofting the deliveries over in-field.

Rohit hit Glenn Maxwell for a six over deep mid-wicket to bring up the team's 100 and then got his half century with a tickle down leg-side off Xavier Doherty.

If Dhawan muscled the deliveries, Rohit found a way to caress them to the boundary.

However, after reaching his 50, Dhawan upped the ante with some sizzling strokeplay before James Faulkner got him to edge one trying to hit one shot too many. His 86-ball stay had 14 sweetly timed boundaries as he missed out on what would have been a well-deserved hundred.

Kohli did not take time to settle down as he raced to a half-century in only 27 balls with four huge sixes. Whether hitting Faulkner over long-off or smashing Watson over deep mid-wicket, each shot came out of the top drawer as India steadily inched towards victory with minimum fuss.

Earlier, Australian batsmen yet again took the Indian bowling attack to the cleaners as they scored a massive 359 for five, equaling their highest ever total against India.

Led from the front by their skipper George Bailey (92 not out), the Australian batsmen made merry of a listless Indian attack on a good track.

This incidentally is Australia's highest total on Indian soil surpassing their previous best of 350 for four in Hyderabad in 2009. This total also equalled their highest ever total of 359 for two against India made during 2003 World Cup final in South Africa as well as 359 for four in a VB Series match in Sydney back in 2004.

Phil Hughes (83), Aaron Finch (50), Shane Watson (59) set up the platform for skipper Bailey and Glenn Maxwell (53) to finish the innings with a flourish.

Indian bowlers conceded 122 runs in the last 10 overs of the innings as Bailey and Maxwell sent the Indian attack on a leather-hunt putting on a staggering 96 runs in only 8.3 overs for the fourth wicket.

Bailey bludgeoned the Indian bowling as he faced only 50 balls in his unbeaten innings, hitting eight fours and five sixes.

Both Ishant Sharma (0/70 in 9 overs) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/54 in 10 overs) lacked penetration as both Finch and Hughes negotiated the duo with ease.

The third seamer R Vinay Kumar was guilty of bowling either too short or only slower deliveries and it only added to skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's woes. Vinay (2/73 in 9 overs) had the worst figures among the pacers.

The worst among the Indian bowlers was though left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja (0/72 from 10 overs) and Yuvraj Singh (0/35 from four overs) and the duo gave away 107 runs in 11 overs between them. Ravichandran Ashwin (1/50 from eight overs) fared marginally better.

While Finch, as usual, was at his attacking best, Hughes complemented him by playing the second fiddle to perfection.

Any width outside the off-stump was dealt with severity by Finch, who also pulled a slow bouncer from Vinay Kumar for a six to complete his second successive half-century of the series.

Tri-series: West Indies vs India - Preview

Port of Spain: Their campaign in tatters after two consecutive defeats, India need to regroup quickly as they go into a must-win match against hosts West Indies in the cricket tri-series here on Thursday.

The Champions Trophy winners have suddenly looked vulnerable as the young Indian players found it tough to come to terms with the challenging conditions.

As if the two-paced Caribbean wickets were not enough to trouble the Indians, injury to charismatic skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has only made the job tough for them.

Tomorrow`s contest comes as a huge challenge and test for the leadership quality of Virat Kohli, who is being considered as a future captain of the country.

Kohli`s tactics during the big-defeat against Sri Lanka did not work and it will be interesting to see how he leads the young pack in the pressure match, where a defeat will virtually ensure their elimination.

West Indies are best placed so far with nine points, courtesy two wins from as many matches while Sri Lanka are second with five points. Both the teams have managed to win a bonus point.

A victory tomorrow will keep India alive in the competition. Their defeat would send the hosts into the final and from there, India`s chances to qualify for the final will depend on a lot of ifs and buts.

First and foremost, India would need a favour from the West Indies that the hosts beat Sri Lanka in their final league match on Sunday and then India will have to beat the Asian neighbours on Tuesday in a certain number of overs to make it to the summit clash.

India`s victory tomorrow will keep the tournament open as all three teams will have a chance to book a place in the title clash.

Considering the grim situation, India need stroke-maker Shikhar Dhawan to yet again provide a solid opening along with Rohit Sharma, who is the only one so far from the side to score a half-century.

In the first two matches, their partnership has not gone beyond five overs. It`s crucial that the two batsmen click as India thrives on good starts.

The players are in form and they need to apply better acording to conditions. The bowlers struggled to find length against Sri Lanka and repeat of the same will be suicidal against the big-hitting Caribbean players.

Chris Gayle is always a big threat and his opening partner Johnson Charles has also given a good account of himself. Kieron Pollard in the middle and Darren Sammy in the lower order are also capable of taking the game away from the opposition on their day.

India may leave out Shami Ahmed and bring back Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. It is also unlikely that Ambati Rayudu will get his debut match in the crucial game.

For West Indies, captain Dwayne Bravo is likely to come back to side, having missed the India match due to a groin strain.

Teams (from):
India: Virat Kohli (Capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Umesh Uadav, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Ambati Rayudu, Murali Vijay, Shami Ahmed and R Vinay Kumar.
West Indies: Dwayne Bravo (Capt), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle, Jason Holderm, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, and Devon Smith.