CWC 2023 - 'Never expected that': Rahul recalls India's early collapse vs Australia in chat with Kohli - Watch

India and Australia faced each other in their respective CWC 2023 openers in match 5 on Sunday (Oct8) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Being asked to bowl first, Rohit Sharma & Co. rode on Ravindra Jadeja's 3 for 28, Kuldeep Yadav's 2 for 42 and Jasprit Bumrah's 2 for 35 to dismiss the Aussies for 199 in 49.3 overs. In reply, India were 2 for 3 before Virat Kohli (85) and KL Rahul (97 not out) took India home with six wickets and 52 balls to spare.

After the clash, Kohli and Rahul -- who stitched a match-winning 165-run third-wicket stand -- got together for a candid chat. The video was shared on the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) official handle on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption, "They both got #TeamIndia the first win of #CWC23".

As the bandwagon moves to Delhi, here's @imVkohli & @klrahul dissecting their match-winning partnership against Australia.

P.S. The local lad is bracing himself for his homecoming"

KOHLI AND RAHUL'S CANDID CHAT

In their conversation, Kohli recalled the stunning 233-run third-wicket stand with Rahul in India's Super Four clash versus Pakistan in the Asia Cup but rated their recent stand 'bit more special.'

Kohli started by saying, "Talking about the special partnership that I and KL had, we had one in the Asia Cup as well but this was a bit more special." He then asked Rahul, "How does it feel, how is the body feeling firstly."

Rahul replied, "Tired. I won't lie, you know how it was the only chat after I think 50 or 70 runs of the partnership was let's conserve energy. Let's not run the twos but once you hit it in the gap then I guess instincts take over and we end up running. It was a tough day but it could get our World Cup journey started with a good victory."

'It doesn't all happen in 1.5 overs or 2 overs time'

Kohli recalled India's top-order failure in Chennai and said, "I know the situation was not ideal when you came in, you were all over the place you were still padding up while walking in. The first thing I told you was that it was a quick turnaround. It was quite bizarre to be honest the start was quite bizarre." He then asked his partner, "What was your feeling when you were walking in?"

Rahul was quick to respond, "I never expected it, you do lose a couple of quick wickets sometimes when the ball is doing something but not like that it still takes 4-5 overs. It doesn't all happen in 1.5 overs or 2 overs time. I just came and sat, I just had a shower, the minute I sat down Ishan got out. I had to rush back to get taped and started wearing my pad."

In India's heartbreaking CWC '19 semi-final loss versus New Zealand, chasing 240, the then Kohli-led Indian team were 5 for 3 and struggled to get past the finish line,losing by 18 runs. In their very next outing in the World Cup, i.e. their opener in the 2023 edition, the Men in Blue once again struggled early onbut had Kohli-Rahul who bailed them out of the crisis.

India will now face Afghanistan in their second game, i.e. match 9 of the CWC 2023 edition on Wednesday (Oct11) in New Delhi, India. Rohit & Co. will be eager to put up a better show at the top and aim for two wins in a row.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE