Cricket World Cup 2019: Australia v India, Virat Kohli silences Smith heckling

Indian skipper’s extraordinary intervention as a packed house booed Steve Smith | WATCH

India have beaten Australia in a match they had control of almost from the start.

You couldn’t begrudge them the victory because they clearly played the better cricket on the day.

It was even harder to begrudge them their success after the actions of Virat Kohli.

The crowd at The Oval was almost entirely Indian and entirely besotted by their captain’s knock. At times the noise was deafening.

When Steve Smith went to field on the fence at the Vauxhall end, however, they began to boo the former Australian skipper and chant “cheat”.

Kohli, to his credit, gestured to the crowd to show a little more grace. Grateful for the gesture, Smith gave a passing embrace to his former nemesis at the over’s end.

With India fans giving Steve Smith a tough time fielding in the deep, @imVkohli suggested they applaud the Australian instead.

Absolute class 👏 #SpiritOfCricket #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/mmkLoedxjr

— ICC (@ICC) June 9, 2019

Australia lost the toss and every important moment thereafter.

They were like a crowd chasing a runaway car down a hill. Having failed to engage the handbrake during the Indian innings, Aaron Finch’s men were always playing catch-up to a vehicle that was getting further away from them with every step.

They are now 2-1 from three games. India are 2-0.

David Warner, Steve Smith and Alex Carey scored half centuries, the wicket-keeper’s coming from just 25 balls, but it was hundreds that were needed. Shikhar Dhawan got one for India that was complemented by 82 from Virat Kohli and 57 from Rohit Sharma.

Australia got to 316, 37 runs short of victory, but any real chance of a win had evaporated by the 40th over.

The game was a reminder of the continued effort it will take from this assembling side to stay in the World Cup until the last match. India are a seriously good outfit. England perhaps even better. The Australians need to be at their very best to beat either team. They got away with a patchy effort against the West Indies, but momentary lapses against the better sides become magnified quickly.

England have a batting order that goes flat out from the start. India’s are a little more nuanced, but equally effective. Australia are forced to a more measured approach.

They were determined in their efforts to catch up after allowing India to post 352 batting first, but it was always a hard ask.

David Warner and Aaron Finch built a cautious platform but a second’s hesitation laid it to waste.

Warner was unusually conservative and the skipper was just finding his range when called through for a quick single. He blinked, the Indian fielders swooped and he was gone. Finch was furious. Whether it was with himself or his partner was not obvious, but he had reached 36 from 35 deliveries and they had reached a careful 61 in 13 overs before the error.

Careful starts need to be cashed in on. This one was squandered.

A required run rate that had been in the almost manageable eight and a half runs an over began to balloon when it should have been reeled in and was soon out to nine and a half as Steve Smith found his range.

Then Warner was out for 56. His second half century of the tournament came from 84 balls. Again, a careful start was wasted. When you soak up that much of the match you have to make sure you are there to accelerate later.

It was the slowest half century of his ODI career, even slower than the 74-ball fifty he posted in the first match against Afghanistan.

Smith was sent in ahead of Usman Khawaja, presumably because it was deemed he is in better touch than the usual first drop.

The former captain also advanced carefully. His half century came from 60 balls.

The required run rate had slid out to 11 and the car was heading toward the cliff. It became painful to watch. At one point he and Khawaja summoned just one boundary from a 10-over spell.

Credit had to be given to the Indian bowlers who, comforted by the size of the score they were defending, kept the screws on.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s first five overs went for 12 runs. The fielding was as sharp as the run-rate dull.

Khawaja was just finding his feet when he was removed for 42 from 39 balls.

Glenn Maxwell changed things up a bit. Bhuvneshwar’s sixth over went for 15 as the batsman played with the aggressive abandon such a situation demands. It helps that he was born for this sort of hitting.

Smith was dismissed for 69, Maxwell followed, gone for 28 from 14 balls, Stoinis out for a second-ball duck.

And the inevitable was now undeniable.

Australia learned a number of hard lessons earlier in the match.

India, they were reminded, are a strong opponent with some very, very good batsmen.

You do not, it will be reinforced, give such sides a chance by missing catches. Not even a hard one and especially not a second one. The reprieved batsmen — Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya — added 102 runs they should have been denied had the opportunities been grasped.

The other thing the Australians learned is that if Mitchell Starc or Pat Cummins do not get early breakthroughs, things can get out of hand quickly.

The spearheads took 2-129 between them, Starc getting the pair’s first breakthrough in the 39th over, by which time India were 2-220 and on their way to a monumental total.

The boys in blue finished on 5-352 in a power-packed display in front of an Oval crowd which was 99.99 per cent Indian.

The highest successful chase in a World Cup match is 328 by Ireland over England 2011.

Early breakthroughs just would not come.

Nathan Coulter-Nile dropped Rohit Sharma off Starc’s bowling when the batsman was on two.

It was a difficult chance, high and wide at square leg. Had he taken it you would be watching the replay for days to come. He didn’t, and as a result Australia watched India play with abandon in the overs to come.

Shikhar Dhawan is an all-or-nothing type opener and here he was all-out brilliant, clubbing 117 from 109 deliveries, 64 of them coming in boundaries.

Rohit was eventually caught behind trying to finesse Coulter-Nile over Alex Carey’s head, but not before he had made 57.

India were 1-127 in the 23rd over — a perfect platform on a good batting pitch.

The problem for Australia — indeed any team — is that when the strike bowlers don’t get a wicket, it puts so much pressure on the second line. You could almost see the Indian openers relax after they saw off Starc and Cummins.

Coulter-Nile would have been hit for three successive fours in his first over but for a wide between boundaries that the batsman could not reach. Dhawan charged and hit him down the ground, cut him hard square and then caressed him fine for another. The series of shots interrupted only by the extra.

The bowler, who did not have a wicket in the World Cup to this point and said he was feeling the pressure of that after the second game, held his nerve and finished his 10-over spell with a respectable 1-63.

He should have had two wickets but Carey dropped Hardik Pandya before the batsman had got off the mark.

Adam Zampa (0-50 from six overs) felt the hot confident breath of the opposition and went for 8.3 runs an over. Glenn Maxwell cobbled together a more economical performance with a return of 0-45 from seven, but breakthroughs were needed.

The opening stand of 127 provided the perfect platform for Virat Kohli, who was out in the final over for 82 from 77.