Twitter Reactions: India collapse, Pandya-Dhoni rescue, Aussies collapse and they all fall down

The first One-Day International had a kickstart at Chepauk. The match did get reduced as a result of rains but it didn’t fall short of any entertainment. India began things in fashion as they won their seventh consecutive ODI on the trot. Earlier in the day, it was skipper Virat Kohli who won the toss as the hosts elected to bat first. India went in with Manish Pandey at No.4 and Ajinkya Rahane opened the proceedings. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were the two spinners. Australia included Adam Zampa and handed debut to all rounder Hilton Cartwright.

Batting first, India found themselves in trouble with the early dismissal of Rahane and skipper Kohli. Manish Pandey also failed to impress as India were left reeling at 11/3. Kedhar Jadhav was promoted to No.5 as him and Rohit tried to recover India from the early slump.

However, both failed to do so as India were reduced to 87/5. That’s when the ever reliable MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya managed to save India from the blushes. Together, they put up a stupendous 118-run partnership for the sixth wicket. While Pandya scored a fantastic knock of 83 (66), Dhoni made a valiant 79 and in the process also completed 100 half centuries in international cricket.

India posted a total of 281/6 thanks to some late charge by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Nathan Coulter Nile was the pick amongst the Aussie bowlers with three wickets while Marcus Stoinis also got a couple of wickets. Adam Zampa and James Faulkner also got a wicket each but were a touch expensive.

As for Australia, they had to chase a revised target of 164 runs in 21 overs. The visitors never seemed comfortable as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Debutant Cartwright, Travis Head and skipper Steve Smith were all dismissed cheaply. David Warner and later Glenn Maxwell tried to dig in but ended up bowing to pressure.

The Australian lower order didn’t have much to offer unlike the Indian team in the first innings, as the spinners cashed in to restrict the run flow. In the end, India won the game by 26 runs. Yuzvendra Chahal again proved his usefulness with figures of 3/30 while Kuldeep Yadav also got a couple of wickets after having been taken to the cleaners by Maxwell. Hardik Pandya was the obvious choice for the man of the match award for his all round performance.

Twitter kept everyone entertained throughout the game with some interesting tweets. Right from lauding Dhoni and Pandya to trolling Rohit Sharma, from lauding Chahal to trolling the Australian batting lineup.

Here are some of the amazing Twitter reactions during the course of the game: