Cricket World Cup: Powered by spin trio, India bundle out Aussies for 199

In what has been a slow and low-scoring Australian innings, the Indian spin trio - Ravindra Jadeja (3 wickets), Kuldeep Yadav (2 wickets) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2 wickets) proved lethal and scalped a total of seven wickets.

In this effort, they were also assisted by pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who claimed one wicket each. The pace bowling spell of Mohammed Siraj (one wicket) also ably restricted the visitors' scoring rate.

The wicket haul by spinners is ample validation of team India's strategy of fielding three spinners for their match in Chennai, which is the first game in this World Cup for both participating teams. On Saturday, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma had hinted at the option of playing three spinners.

The visitors followed a cautious approach after losing opener Mitchell Marsh to pacer Bumrah, in the third over. Marsh hadn't even scored his first run by then. Thereafter, the partnership between David Warner (41runs) and Steve Smith (46runs) helped the team to notch up their score beyond 100, by the time they had batted almost 25 overs.

The scoring rate slowed down further between overs 25 and 50, when the Aussies lost eight more wickets. Despite having a stellar batting line-up and a vast experience of playing International and IPL games in Chennai, the visitors couldn't execute the big hits. There were just two sixes in the 300-ball game and a little over a dozen fours.

Going into the evening as Team India step into the chase, the Aussies could very well give the Indian batters a taste of their spin medicine. However, it isn't as easy as it sounds.

Australia will have to bank on their lone specialist spinner Adam Zampa with the assistance of all-rounders Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith to trap the Indian batters with spin.

A lot would depend also on how the Indian top order batters make best use of the power play and ratchet up their score, to put the pressure on the bowling side.

If all goes well for India, 200 is not a huge total to chase down for an Indian batting line-up that has had a commendable track record in recent times.

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