Sizzling Kohli stars in fine win

The target of 290 appeared to be stiff, especially when India were wobbling at 35 for 2 in the ninth over, but Virat Kohli maintained his sang-froid to get India close before the adventurous Suresh Raina sealed the finish in style. Kohli, in particular, impressed. He not only lost Yuvraj in the 34th over with India still 118 runs adrift of the target but also, by then, was suffering from severe cramps and was forced to bat with a runner. If those hurdles fazed him, he didn't show it and went on to clinch the game in the company of the Raina.

Kohli's nerves, if any, must have eased after Raina collected 17 runs from 38th over of the innings, bowled by James Hopes. Kohli's personal big moment came in the 42nd over when he brought up his ton with a crispy square-drive and screamed in glee. And the game was all but over in the 43rd over when Kohli swung Clint Mckay for two fours and a massive heaved-six over long-on. Post that shot, even his limp towards square-leg seemed to acquire a swagger. It was indeed a special night for Kohli who has now moved ahead of Rohit Sharma in the pecking order. Though India lost Kohli, who holed out to long-on, and MS Dhoni, Raina guided India home.

The chase stood out for India's calm approach. They initially chose to conserve wickets and reserved their assault for the second half of the chase. At the half-way mark they had reached 117 for the loss of the openers and required another 173 runs.

When Mckay removed the openers with a double strike that included a second-ball duck for the debutant Shikhar Dhawan, the situation wasn't entirely dissimilar to Australia's position at the corresponding stage. India's no 3 and no 4 - Kohli and Yuvraj - revived the innings with calm heads.

As you would expect with such a high asking run-rate, the Indian pair did play a few big shots to ease the pressure. Kohli pulled Mitchell Starc for a four before flicking and square-driving John Hastings for successive boundaries. Australia tried to keep it as tight, with the seamers hitting the back of length and bowling as straight as possible. However, the errors started to creep in as the pressure increased and with the spinners proving to be ineffective, Kohli and Yuvraj cruised along.