World Cup 2019, India vs Australia: 3 Unnoticed things from the match 

In Match 14 of the Cricket World Cup, India were up against a confident Australian side coming fresh off of ten consecutive ODI wins. In the morning at The Oval, Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first on a pitch which was expected to get slower as the day progresses.

India'a top order rose to the occasion and nullified the threat from the Australian quicks in the first ten overs. Both the openers in Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma scored their fifties, while the former went onto notch up yet another ton in ICC events. It was a great foundation laid down for the rest of the batters to come and explode later on in the innings. As a result, Indian batting come to the party and posted a huge total of 352 leaving the Australians with a mountain to climb in the second innings.

Chasing 352, the Aussies got off to a slow start as their batsman found it tough to get going. Even in the middle-overs, India’s wrist-spinners didn’t give any opportunity to the Aussies to cut loose. As a result, the Kangaroos were always behind and fell short with way too many runs on the board. In the end, India won by 36 runs to stay unbeaten so far in the tournament. For his superb innings of 117, Shikhar Dhawan was awarded the man of the match.

Here’s a look at 3 unnoticed things from the India-Australia match

#3 Bails – not willing to fall down

David Warner

This has often been the talking point in cricket over the past few months. The Zing bails that are usually seen at the top of the stumps have been reluctant to get dislodged off the grove despite the ball hitting flush on to the stumps. In the second over of the Australian innings, the bails didn’t fall off after the ball hitting the stumps.

This was when David Warner chopped on the ball straight onto his stumps against Jasprit Bumrah bowling with the new heavy Kookaburra ball. In the span of the last 14 games, this was the fifth occasion when the heavy zing bails didn’t fall off, making it frustrating for the bowlers to get a batsman out in the modern era.

#2 Dhawan becomes 1st Indian to score 4 ODI centuries in England

Shikhar Dhawan

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan was at the top of his game as he smacked the Australian bowlers all around the park at The Oval. He blazed his way to a 109-ball 117 to help India post a mammoth total in a clash that had everything at stake. He, along with Rohit Sharma laid the perfect platform for the middle-order to power the score which was beyond Australia’s reach. This was Dhawan’s fourth century in England in ODI cricket and became the first Indian to achieve this feat.

Before him, Rohit and Sachin Tendulkar were tied at three centuries each in England in the white-ball format. This was also Dhawan’s sixth century in the ICC tournaments. He’s ranked second after seven hundred each by Sourav Ganguly and Sachin in this marquee tournament. His love affair with England and ICC tournaments continues and happens to augur well for the men in blue going forward in the season.

#1 Australia concede their highest ever total in a World Cup fixture

Virat Kohli

It was an uncharacteristic Australian performance with the ball as they looked out of sorts against a power-packed Indian batting line up. The Aussies had to pay the price for not picking wickets in the first few overs as the Indian batters made full use of one of the flattest decks on offer.

They were caught wanting in the death overs as the Indian batting might come to be the fore to expose the weak link in their bowling. As a result, Australia also conceded their first ever 350+ score in any World Cup match. Before today, the highest ever runs conceded by Australia was 312 against Sri Lanka in Sydney in 2015. This was also India’s highest runs scored against the men in green and gold in World Cups, going past their previous best of 289 for 6 at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi in 1987.