What happened the last time India played an ODI at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru?
The ongoing ICC Men's World Cup has reached its business end, with the last group match currently underway between India and the Netherlands. The Men in Blue have fired all cylinders and remain the only unbeaten team in the tournament.
With eight wins in eight games, India seems to have all their bases covered. They have been the best team in the tournament by a significant margin.
The match against the Netherlands at the Chinnaswamy Stadium will serve as a dress rehearsal for the semi-final clash against New Zealand, slated to be played at the Wankhede Stadium on November 15 (Wednesday).
The opening batters, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, have been prepared to take risks in the powerplay, which has made things easier for middle-order batters like Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul. The foundation has been laid more often than not, which has resulted in India's utter dominance in the competition.
Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli have been among the runs and have batted with composure. Kohli is the 3rd highest run-getter of the tournament currently, scoring 543 runs in 8 outings. India is known to produce top-quality batters, but what has made the difference in the World Cup has been their bowling.
The Indian fast-bowling trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami have breathed fire, and the opposition's top order has surrendered in front of their mastery. They will be eager to continue the heroics once India come into bowl against the Netherlands in Bengaluru.
India's last ODI at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium
The Chinnaswamy Stadium has already hosted four matches in the ongoing World Cup. However, this is the first time India is playing an ODI in this stadium after a span of nearly four years. It was back in January 2020, when India played their last ODI at the Chinnaswamy against Australia.
It was the series decider of the three-match ODI series, and India ended up winning quite comfortably by seven wickets to take the series 2-1. It was the Australian captain, Aaron Finch, who won the toss and opted to bat.
It was Mohammed Shami who provided the maiden breakthrough in the form of David Warner's wicket, while the skipper was run out after a terrible mix-up with Steve Smith.
The pair of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne resurrected the sinking ship with a sensational partnership of 127 runs.
They played the situation perfectly and blunted the Indian spinners in the middle overs. Surprisingly, Mitchell Starc was sent in as a pinch hitter, but the ploy didn't work, as he was dismissed for a three-ball duck.
Steve Smith continued the hard grind and also kept finding occasional boundaries. He found an able ally in Alex Carey as he scored a run-a-ball 35 to give Australia the foundation to cross the 300 mark. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav bagged three wickets to stall their progress.
Australia looked set for the fireworks in the death overs. However, it was a Mohammed Shami masterclass, which didn't allow them to post somewhere around 300. He nailed his Yorkers and eventually accounted for four Australian batters, as the visitors were restricted to 286/9 in 50 overs.
It looked a belter of a wicket, and it seemed the score of 286 was below par, and the Indians had their noses in front at the halfway stage. It was the opening duo of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul who started cautiously against the new ball and then started finding the boundaries.
The partnership raced off to 69 in the 13th over before Adam Zampa bowled a flipper, trapping Rahul plumb in front of the stumps. Out came Virat Kohli to join his vice captain Rohit Sharma, and the duo were clinical in their approach and batted with composure.
The six-hitting ability of Rohit Sharma was on display yet again as he smashed six sixes during his match-winning knock of 119, which came in 128 deliveries. Kohli looked in terrific touch and kept finding the occasional boundaries, besides rotating the strike almost every ball.
A massive stand of 137 runs set it up for India as Rohit was dismissed after a brilliant century. He wanted to finish it off early, which resulted in his downfall. The situation could have been tricky, but Shreyas Iyer came out with a clear frame of mind and started smashing the Australian bowlers.
He scored a quickfire 44 off 35 deliveries and shared a 68-run stand with Virat. Kohli was dismissed for 89 as Josh Hazlewood castled him. It was Manish Pandey who struck the winning boundary as India sealed the series 2-1.