Ind Aus ODI 2: Kohli's Ton, Yuvraj and Raina Overcome Clarke's Century for Superlative Win

Another incredible Indian victory was written into the chapters although both teams are at less than full strength for the contest in the second ODI of the India Australia series in Vishakapatnam.

virat kohli century for india

michael clarke century against india

Forced to bat first, Australia looked to their stand in captain, Michael Clarke, after Ricky Ponting was rested for the series, to bolster them in the batting department after Ashish Nehra put them under considerable pressure at two down for sixteen.

And Australia put up a spirited effort thereafter with Clarke himself leading the way with finesse and experience as he starred in a 144 run partnership with Michael Hussey. Their partnership began to really tell on the Indian team as runs began to flow with urgency and purpose and the threat of having to chase to a tall order loomed.

Clarke himself was at the forefront of making the life of the Indians tougher as he scored a fine century amidst question marks over whether Clarke was ready for the mantle of captaincy on a long term basis. Hussey was at his experienced best making sixty nine runs and gave Australia a fluent position from which to launch.

India looked to be missing the services of Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh as Cameron White came in and made the most of the launch pad, hammering eight-nine runs off just forty-nine balls, an innings that saw six boundaries and six sixes as India were pressed to chase a mammoth target of 290 for a win.

virat kohli yuvraj singh

India's best opportunity came when Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh combined forces. While the latter has been under some pressure, struggling to keep his place in the team, Kohli has been looking to make himself integral to the team. Neither men lost the opportunity to emphasize the value of their presence.

Between the two of them, India were well ahead of where Australia were and each time, the pressure seemed on the inexperienced Australian bowlers such as Mitchell Starc, Hastings and Clint McKay.

A belligerent, promising 137 run partnership ensured as Kohli put Murali Vijay's advice of timing the ball to the test. En route both men succumbed to the weather, cramping on their way through the innings, but did not let up on the pressure. While the duo were at the crease, India's challenge seemed strong, and optimistic. Yuvraj did himself no harm with a fluent sixty-nine innings while Kohli went onto score a memorable ODI century.

suresh raina adjusts his helmet

The match was not without its drama though. India suffered its first hiccup when Yuvraj Singh was dismissed which brought about an eighty-four run gutsy partnership between Kohli and Suresh Raina. That partnership was critical if India were not to throw away their good opportunity.

And then Hastings caused a flutter when he had Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian captain, dismissed in the span of an over. But with India still needing thirty-odd runs at about a run a ball, Saurabh Tiwary did the wise thing of rotating and giving Raina the strike. Raina, for his part, showed his cool character once more as he wielded the bat to good effect, scoring seventy-one runs from forty-seven runs much like White's innings, and in the process, team India snapped up the win by five wickets with an over and a ball to spare.