Two to tango: Gill and Rohit have set it up for India during its run chases.  Photo K.R Deepak/The Hindu
| Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

The essence of an emerging contest is often sensed during the opening act in ODIs. Remember Sachin Tendulkar’s upper-cut six off Shoaib Akhtar in a 2003 World Cup game at Centurion in South Africa? It set the tone for India’s successful chase and it was the bullet that set fire to the African skies. After two decades, that shot continues to have immense recall value.

Cricketing tradition, even in ODIs, often expected openers to wear down fast bowlers before the middle-order stars swaggered in. But that dour garb atop the batting tree was then slightly altered. Teams mixed it up with one classic player walking out alongside an aggressive partner. Closer home, we had Sunil Gavaskar and K. Srikkanth.

Later, it became Ravi Shastri and Srikkanth. Even with the West Indies, Desmond Haynes was more ice to Gordon Greenidge’s raging fire. The late Martin Crowe then unleashed the pinch-hitter with Mark Greatbatch being the battering ram up the order for co-host New Zealand during the 1992 World Cup.

In the 1996 edition hosted in the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka did a ‘buy one get one free’ offer as two aggressive willow-wielders — Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana — caused havoc. This double-trouble template was also reflected through Indian pairs such as Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly or later Tendulkar-Virender Sehwag.

Cut to the latest World Cup, India has been served well by its openers except during that shock two for three phase against Australia at Chennai on Oct. 8. Skipper Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan or Rohit with Shubman Gill have plundered runs, especially during the compulsory first 10-over PowerPlay stage with field restrictions.

Against Afghanistan in Delhi, Rohit, and Kishan shared 156 runs. In the big fight involving Pakistan at Ahmedabad, even though Gill fell early, by then India had struck 23 runs in a mere 2.5 overs. When the action shifted to Pune, Rohit and Gill shared an alliance worth 88. Later, once the Himalayas were scaled, the duo added 71 against New Zealand at Dharamshala. In all these key bonding exercises, Rohit was the constant star.

If Kishan was all about left-handed aggression, the aesthetics were often the sole preserve of the right-handers — Rohit and Gill. Usually in cricket, it is the other way round where left always got it right when it came to tapping our artistic biases. An elegant left-hander was an expected norm even if for every David Gower poem, there was a counter through Allan Border’s hard prose.

Killing them softly could be the joint theme of the Rohit-Gill combine and their fiery tango has drilled holes through the opposition’s field settings besides scraping the skies. These partnerships have been crucial as India mounted excellent chases all through this premier championship and also laid the foundation for Virat Kohli to build his strong edifices. As the Men in Blue prepare for their Sunday’s clash against England at Lucknow, the Rohit-Gill chemistry will continue to be the first hurdle that rival skippers will always be wary about.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc watches as Virat Kohli K.L. Rahul run between the wickets during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match between India and Australia in Chennai, India, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Australian pacer Mitchell Starc completed 50 wickets in the ICC World Cup, becoming only the second Australian and overall fifth bowler to do so.

The pacer accomplished this milestone during India’s ICC Cricket World Cup campaign opener against Australia in Chennai. In the defence of 200 runs, Starc drew the first blood, removing Ishan Kishan for a golden duck. He ended with figures of 1/31 in eight overs. In 19 WC games, he has 50 wickets at an average of 15.14, with best bowling figures of 6/28. Starc’s 27 wickets in 10 World Cup games in the 2019 edition of the tournament is a record that stands still.

He has taken the most wickets in a single edition of the tournament. He also took 22 wickets in the 2015 edition at home, in which Australia also won the trophy for the fifth time. The highest wicket-takers in World Cup history are Australia’s Glenn McGrath (71 wickets in 39 matches), Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (68 wickets in 40 matches), Lasith Malinga (56 wickets in 29 matches) and Pakistan’s Wasim Akram (55 wickets in 38 matches).

Starc has taken his 50 World Cup wickets in just 941 balls, becoming the fastest to reach the milestone in terms of balls taken. The second-best here is Malinga, who reached the landmark in 1,187 balls. Greats like McGrath, Akram, and Muralitharan are below Starc in this list. Coming to the WC match between India and Australia, Australia lost Mitchell Marsh for a duck, but opener David Warner (41 in 52 balls with six fours) and Steve Smith (46 in 71 balls with five fours) helped the Aussies recover with their 69-run second-wicket partnership. Marnus Labuschagne (27) tried to take the Aussie innings forward with Smith, but following Smith’s dismissal, Australia faced a collapse.

The spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja (3/28), Kuldeep Yadav (2/42), and Ravichandran Ashwin (1/34) wreaked havoc on Australia’s line-up of recognized batters while the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah (2/35), Mohammed Siraj (1/26) and Hardik Pandya (1/28) removed the lower order, sinking Australia from 110/3 to 199 all out in 49.3 overs. Mitchell Starc (28) tried to help the Aussies play the full quota of 50 overs, but he failed.