India 281 for 5 (Gill 74, Gaikwad 71, Zampa 2-57) beat Australia 276 (Warner 52, Inglis 45, Shami 5-51) by five wickets
Openers Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad had started the 277 chase with complete ease against both pace and spin in the chase, and had made their way to 142 in less than 22 overs. They started with 43 off the first seven overs, with Gaikwad also enjoying a life when he was dropped on 17. However, Gaikwad did not stop him from playing his shots, punching through deep point for four in the same over. Seven off the eight fours from the pair in the first ten overs came in the region from backward point to cover, even as Gill had also effortlessly pulled Marcus Stoinis for six over square leg in the fourth over.
But Zampa ended the fun by trapping Gaikwad for 71, before cleaning Gill up for 74 with one that skidded through. In between, Shreyas Iyer, whose fitness and form India would have been keen to test ahead of the World Cup, was run-out for 3 after a mix-up with Gill. Rahul, who had arrived after Gill’s dismissal, then joined hands with Ishan Kishan to briefly steady the innings, before an attempted ramp had Kishan caught behind off Pat Cummins for 18.
Kishan had enjoyed some fortune when a forceful loft on 6 was put down by Zampa on the second ball of the 28th over, immediately after which he also dropped Rahul on 1 – this being a much simpler chance while grabbing it low. But Rahul was only carrying forward his fortune from when he was on the field as wicketkeeper.
Two successive fumbles from him possibly ended up being crucial factors in restricting Australia to 276. When a well-set Marnus Labuschagne attempted a reverse sweep off R Ashwin in the 33rd over, the ball tickled his bat to hit Rahul’s right leg. That happened only because Rahul missed the grab, but the ball ricocheted onto the stumps, and replays showed Labuschagne’s back leg was just outside the crease. Labuschagne had batted well for 39, but his stumping ended a promising 45-run third-wicket stand.
Then in the 40th over, when Cameron Green seemed to be ticking after a slow start, he dabbed at a ball, which Rahul failed to grab on the bounce. Seeing the miss, Green called for a second run, only for Inglis to respond late. In a matter of seconds, Green found himself three-fourth of the way down the striker’s end with the ball dribbling to deep third, but Inglis sent him back. Even though the fielder threw it wide at the bowler’s end, Suryakumar was close enough to grab it and break the stumps, leaving Green run-out for 31.