Four years after a poignant first semi-final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 against New Zealand in Manchester, India once again found themselves struggling at 5/3 in their first match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against Australia in Chennai. Unlike that tormenting match where the Indian top-order was dismissed for a team total of five runs, the hosts lost their first three batters with only a couple of runs on the board tonight.
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Therefore, not starting in the best of manners in consecutive World Cup matches. A match which India had lost post former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni‘s heartbreaking run-out in the penultimate over of a 240-run chase, the result of the ongoing match remains to be seen as former captain Virat Kohli and wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul have steadied the ship to a large extent in a 200-run chase.
With Rohit Sharma As Common Wicket 4 Years Apart, India’s Score Reads 5/3 In Consecutive World Cup Matches
India captain Rohit Sharma, highest run-scorer in the last World Cup, is a common dismissal between both the World Cup matches where the team’s score read 5/3. Having opened the batting with Rahul at Old Trafford, Sharma was the first batter to be dismissed after he had edged a terrific Matt Henry delivery to Tom Latham behind the wickets.
In the following over, then-captain Kohli was found wanting in front of the wickets against Trent Boult leaving Indian fans distressed. In Henry’s next over, Rahul had followed Sharma in edging the ball to the wicket-keeper. Readers must note that the Indian top-order had scored a run each back in the day.
As far as the current contest is concerned, Ishan Kishan was the first batter to be dismissed after he chased a wide Mitchell Starc delivery only to edge it to first slip. In the second over, Josh Hazlewood found Sharma plumb in front of the wickets. Much like Kishan, Shreyas Iyer also gifted his wicket away three balls later.
It is to be noted that Kishan, Sharma and Iyer combined to create an unwanted record as three out of the first four Indian batters had never ever been dismissed for individual ducks in this format in the past.
With Mumbai Indians‘ opening pair of Kishan and Sharma failing to score a single run between them, it has happened for the first time since ICC Cricket World Cup 1983 that Indian openers have been dismissed for ducks in a world event. The last such instance had happened in a memorable match where Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth’s dismissals were followed by the then captain Kapil Dev‘s career-best 175* (138).
Virat Kohli’s Unsuccessful Pull Scares Indian Fans
In addition to the aforementioned coincidences, Kohli had also scared the crap out of Indian fans for a brief moment by unsuccessfully pulling Hazlewood in the eighth over.
Saved by an astonishing drop by Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, Kohli had stopped millions of hearts after not being in control whilst facing a short ball. Interestingly, the best Indian batter getting out cheaply to a short ball bowled by Australian pacers in a World Cup match has happened in the past as well.
While the immediate memory was of Kohli’s dismissal against Mitchell Johnson in the second semi-final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Sydney, a distant memory of Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar top-edging a Glenn McGrath short ball in ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 final also hounded Indian fans. You can watch Kohli’s dismissal by clicking here and Tendulkar’s dismissal by clicking here.
