Kohli and Rahul work magic as India make dream start against Australia

When you strip the act of batting of all theory and uncomplicate things, it comes down to one basic tenet: play the ball in front of you.

Don’t play the bowler’s reputation, the occasion, or your preconceived notions. Instead, watch the ball, keep in mind the conditions and address it appropriately and, more often than not, you will find a way to make runs.

In three different phases of a taut match between India and Australia, this was made obvious. At no time more painfully so than when India began their chase of 200. Ishan Kishan, swishing outside off, and Shreyas Iyer, chipping to cover, played shots more suited to a pick-up game at the nearby Marina Beach than a World Cup fixture against Australia.

Rohit Sharma missed one from Josh Hazlewood that nipped back in and was trapped in front and India were two for three, making it three ducks in three. Traditionally, when the lights are switched on, the ball comes on to the bat better, making it easier for batting. But, on the day, there was a bit of up-and-down bounce and movement in the air and off the pitch.

India were staring down the barrel before Virat Kohli and KL Rahul saved the day. There was playing and missing early on from both, and the match as a contest hung in the balance when Kohli, on 12, played a short-arm jab that sent the ball straight up in the air. Mitchell Marsh made good ground, putting in the dive but failing to hold on.

From there on, Kohli barely put a foot wrong, batting well within his range but digging deep into reserves of concentration and physical fitness, literally taking it one ball at a time. Rahul, who initially played more cut shots than would be recommended on such a surface, began to profit from the stroke.

Kohli, 85, and Rahul, 97 not out, shared a 165-run stand that took India across the line by six wickets. The manner in which the pair played showed that the demons in the pitch had been exaggerated by muddled shot selection.

This was true earlier in the day, when Ravindra Jadeja picked up three big wickets in the space of 11 balls, conceding 10 runs, and ripped out the heart of the Australian batting. From a steady 74 for one Australia tottered at 119 for five.

If you gave an imaginative child a crayon and asked her to draw the trajectory of an ideal left-arm spinner’s delivery, you would get a ball sent down from wide of the crease, drifting in, gripping the surface and then straightening. Then, you would dismiss that as too fanciful. But the look of utter disbelief on Steve Smith’s face in the 28th over of Australia’s innings showed that, in the right hands, an ordinary ball can be coaxed to do extraordinary things.

Jadeja delivered just such a ripper and Smith, deceived in flight, was not to the pitch of the ball. He also played inside the line, beaten off the pitch and had his off stump pegged back. Smith was well set, batting on 46 and was still unable to resist.

Marcus Labuschagne, also having got his eye in for 27, played a hard sweep and this time the ball went straight, a thin outside edge being smartly pouched by Rahul. In the same over, Alex Carey tried to defend and the ball turned just enough to beat the shot. The finger went up and even the non-striker could not be convinced to allow a review of the decision.

Three other wickets fell to spinners. Kuldeep Yadav got David Warner to pop back a return catch and had Glenn Maxwell caught on the cut. Playing a wrist spinner who bowls at Kuldeep’s pace off the back foot, unless the ball is a rank long hop, is always risky.

The other wicket to fall to a spinner was off an even more innocuous delivery, a carom ball from Ravichandran Ashwin that Cameron Green cut straight to backward point.

You might imagine this was a diabolical pitch if you only looked at the scoreboard and did not watch the game. But the truth was simpler: India bowled with skill and control, forcing Australia’s batsmen to play 171 dot balls, and picked up wickets regularly enough to rob them of rhythm and flow. That said, to keep Australia down to only 199 was not merely an achievement, it was the dream start to the tournament. A brief nightmare followed, but eventually, India woke up to a much-needed win and two points.