Superstar Indian cricketer Virat Kohli was at his animated best once again as India opened their World Cup 2023 campaign against Australia on Sunday in front of a passionate, energetic crowd in Chennai.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first on a two-paced, slow, turning surface. Not to forget, not too long ago, in March this year, Australia had beaten India by 21 runs in an ODI in Chennai. The stakes are now much higher, and the Indians brought the World Cup game intensity with them against the five-time world champs.
The fans in the MA Chidambaram Stadium, also known as the Chepauk, were right behind Team India cheering every bot ball, and every good fielding effort and erupted every time India took an Australian wicket.
Virat Kohli was in action right away at the start of the game as took a sensational, tumbling catch of Mitchell Marsh, who outside edged a delivery from fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. Standing at first slip, Kohli had to dive to his left to catch the ball and tumbled once but kept the ball in his hand to complete the catch. The crowd cheered loudly when they saw Kohli take the catch.
Later on, when Virat Kohli was positioned near the boundary line, fans chanted “Kohli Kohli” to show their love and affection for the 34-year-old mega-star.
Fans on Twitter hailed Kohli as the “King Of Chepauk” as the fans went wild whenever he was shown on the big screen.
Here are the reactions of fans to Virat Kohli today:
Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first in Chennai. Jasprit Bumrah drew the first blood for India by picking up Mitchell Marsh’s wicket, before David Warner and Steve Smith steadied the ship with a flurry of boundaries.
Teams:
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey(w), Cameron Green, Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
