Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma gave India a solid start after captain Virat Kohli opted to bat.Shikhar Dhawan hit a sparkling century to put India on course for a big total in a key World Cup clash against Australia at the Oval on Sunday. Dhawan led the Indian charge after captain Virat Kohli won the toss and batted — a decision he said was a “no-brainer” given the sunny conditions in south London. The left-handed Dhawan put on 127 runs with opening partner Rohit Sharma as India reached 190 for one in 33 overs. Dhawan was finally dismissed for 117 by Mitchell Starc in the 37th over. Dhawan and Sharma took the attack to the reigning champions’ bowlers after a cautious start against the Australia new-ball pair of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. Paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile finally struck in the 23rd over, having Sharma caught behind after the opener recorded his 42nd ODI fifty.
Today, they are playing together for the fifth time in the mega event.
Indian Team: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami
Australia Team: Aaron Finch (C), Glenn Maxwell, Usman Khawaja, D’Arcy Short, Shaun Marsh, Alex Carey, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Nathon Lyon, Ashton Turner, Pat Cummins, Kane Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff
