Daijiworld Media Network - Sports

Jaipur, Oct 17: man of the match Rohit Sharma, for his best-ever knock unbeaten 141 (123 balls) was delighted to see India chasing mamoth total of 359 to beat Australia by nine wickets when still 39 balls were spare !.

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan started off the blocks in fine fashion. 69 runs came from the first ten overs as the platform was set-up. Dhawan was the aggressor, Rohit was the calming influence. Haddin dropped Dhawan on 18, something that Australia would go on to repent as the innings progressed. Runs came in bushels, fours came along almost in every over. Dhawan was dismissed 5 runs short of his ton, ending a 172-run 1st wicket stand.

During the presentation ceremoney he told that "It was very important to get a big innings. It came after a long time. I feel my hardwork is paying off, I am happy it came in a winning cause. I wanted to bat throughout the innings, I had played some stupid shots to get out previously. It was a much needed knock for me. We (Me and Dhawan) understand each others game very well, fantastic batting effort, probably the best chase we have been involved. Kohli deserved all the accolades, his knock was out of the world. He just changed the course of the game. Shikhar was excellent as well, it was a combined batting effort.'

Dhoni: 'Simply great chase, however flat the pitch was, it was simply outstanding. I just told them to go out with a clear mind, Shikhar was terrific. Rohit and Kohli were simply brilliant. Our guys don't have the kind of experience, only Yuvraj has played some 250 ODIs. The shot selection was simply superb, we did not lose our head at any time during the chase. We need to improve our bowling, low full tosses are OK, not high ones. Our batting is good, but it is unfair to ask our batsmen to score 300 everytime. They are working hard, and I believe they will improve. It is now a 5-match series, we will take each match as it comes.'

Bailey: 'What was happening? You should tell me (to Shastri). Do you think the pitch was a beauty (smiles at Shastri)? It was some pretty awesome batting performance by the Indians. Everything we tried, the ball simply disappeared to all parts of the ground. We knew that there would be a little bit of dew, that it would be a lot harder to bowl under lights. Well played to India. Our performance was good, but they were exceptional.'

Harsha Bhogle tweets: i thought the natwest run chase of 325 would be the best i would see from india. i have now seen a better run chase.

Ajith tweets: Doing this with Yuvi, Raina, Dhoni and Jadeja to come explains the power of this line up

Lord's Ground tweets: #IndvAus Not a match the bowlers will want to revisit... Well played India.

Rajneesh Gupta tweets: Previous Hs successful chase by a side losing just 1 wkt was 267 (Aus vs SL, Brisbane, 2006). India bettered it by a long distance!
Kohli: 'Wanted to go out there and play my part. Did not plan to get it in 52 balls. Went in and told Rohit to convert the start as he had got a lot of 60s and 70s in the recent past. Did not practice yesterday, just had throw ins. Was not worried about the short stuff. It is not about how many balls you get it but whether the team wins or not. Once Rohit gets in it is difficult to stop him, he is the best batsman in the Indian T20 League.'

Dhawan: 'It was great feeling. We started off well and once we were in, we started playing more freely. We both decide who has to attack and who has to hang back. We always plan as to how to go about it. Very happy for Rohit, he got a hundred after a long time and he got good support from Virat.'

If Australia were relieved at his exit, more shock was to come in the form of Virat Kohli. The young sensation came as a man possessed, if the opening partnership included sublime fours, sixes became the order of the day with Kohli. The bowlers were simply powerless to stop the combined onslaught. 58 runs came in the batting PP and Rohit finally lived up to his promise. This was his 3rd hundred, 1st against Australia, 1st at home as well. Kohli was not to be left behind, he was to go on to break Sehwag's record for the fastest ton by an Indian batsman as India completed a stunning chase. The series is level at 1-1 with the next match scheduled to be held at Punjab.