India win toss, bat against Australia in ODI match

Kuldeep Yadav became the third India bowler to take a one-day international hat trick as Australia was bowled out for 202 in a 50-run loss at Eden Gardens on Thursday.

Yadav took 3-54 and his legspin partner Yuzvendra Chahal took 2-34, and India took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Marcus Stoinis' 62 not out off 65 balls at the end went in vain, as Australia was all out in the 44th over, and India won its eighth consecutive ODI.

Chasing 253 to win on a slow pitch, Australia was in bother from the beginning. Under lights, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3-9) used the new ball to dismiss both openers and reduce them to 9-2 in the fifth over. Hilton Cartwright (1) was bowled, and David Warner (1) was caught at second slip.

This brought captain Steven Smith (59) and Travis Head (39) together, and they added 76 runs for the third wicket. They attacked India with 50 runs off 43 balls.

Head was dropped on 15 by Rohit Sharma in the slips. But the batsman couldn't make it count and, against the run of play, holed out to midwicket off a full toss from Chahal in the 17th over.

Chahal bowled tight lines and bamboozled the Australia middle order.

At 106-4, the onus increased on Smith, who answered with his 19th half-century off 65 balls in his 100th ODI. The skipper looked resolute against pace and spin, and his dismissal was the turning point. Smith holed out to the deep off Hardik Pandya (2-56) in the 30th over.

Yadav returned for his second spell and made history in the 33rd over. First, Matthew Wade (2) played on to his stumps, Ashton Agar (0) was trapped lbw for a first-ball duck, and Pat Cummins (0) was caught behind off the next ball.

"I could never even dream about it," Yadav said. "Initially, I was struggling to bowl in a particular area. MS Dhoni told me to bowl what I wanted on the hat trick ball. He and Virat Kohli have always backed me. This is a special feeling."

Yadav joined Chetan Sharma (against New Zealand in 1987) and Kapil Dev (against Sri Lanka in 1991) as India hat trick achievers in an ODI. Overall, he became the fifth India bowler after Sharma, Dev, Harbhajan Singh (against Australia in 2001) and Irfan Pathan (against Pakistan in 2006) to reap a hat trick in international cricket. Singh and Pathan did theirs in tests.

Also, Dev, Singh and Yadav achieved theirs at Eden Gardens.

Australia lost five wickets for 42 runs. Stoinis farmed the strike with Nathan Coulter-Nile (8) and Kane Richardson (0), and reached his second ODI half-century off 58 balls.

He hit six fours and three sixes to lead Australia past 200, but the threat of victory didn't materialize as he ran out of partners.

Australia made India bat first and restricted the home side to 252 all out.

Virat Kohli scored 92, and Ajinkya Rahane 55. They put on 102 for the second wicket

Kohli overcame a patchy start to reach his 45th ODI half-century off 60 balls. Shortly afterwards, Rahane notched his 20th ODI half-century off 62 balls, including seven fours.

Soon after their partnership scored 100, Kohli forced Rahane to run a second in the 24th over, and the latter was run out, unable to beat Hilton Cartwright's throw from long on.

Manish Pandey was bowled cheaply and Kedar Jadhav joined Kohli in the middle. They put on 55 for the fourth wicket but Australia was exerted great control over the run rate.

Jadhav perished for 24 trying to force the pace, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, playing his 300th ODI for India, was caught on 5.

Kohli led India past 200, and he was bowled on 92 when he played on Coulter-Nile. He faced 107 balls and hit eight fours.

India lost momentum, Coulter-Nile took 3-51 and Kane Richardson, playing his first ODI since February 2016, took 3-55.

Source: AFP