ICC World Cup: Australia succumb to Ravindra Jadeja's spin choke, fold for 199

Spin maestro Ravindra Jadeja became the biggest nemesis among Indian spinners on a tacky Chepauk track as India rolled over Australia for 199 in 493 overs in their opening ICC World Cup 2023 match on SundayJadeja who knows the track like the back of his hand courtesy his decadeplus association with Chennai Super Kings took 3 for 28 in 10 overs as the slowness of the surface and subtle variations used by the allrounder became Australias undoingRavichandran Ashwin 234 in 10 overs and Kuldeep Yadav 242 in 10 overs also played their parts to perfectionBut it was Jadejas show all the way as he tilted the scale in Indias favour with quick dismissals of an underpressure Steve Smith 46 off 71 balls and an unusually subdued Marnus Labuschagne 27 off 41 ballsThe Indian spin trio collectively bowled 101 dot balls to completely choke the runflow In all there were nearly 29 overs worth dot balls by Indian bowlers phenomenal by any stretch of imaginationThe lack of grass and dry surface underneath prompted Pat Cummins to opt for batting with an eye on the deteriorating surface towards the second half of the matchIt certainly didnt go as per plan as Bumrah 235 in 10 overs bowled one full which also held its line to square up Mitchell Marsh 0 with Virat Kohli completing a good catch at first slipIt was a pitch on which hitting through the line was never an option Rohit Sharma understood that and brought spinners into operation very quickly as Ashwin was introduced in the 8th overWhile David Warner 41 off 52 balls and Smith added 69 runs but it took them 14 overs to score themThey were not at all comfortable and not being very adept with sweep shot meant that one scoring option went out of the windowIt was Kuldeep who got the important wicket of Warner as he bowled one full and fast that skidded a bit and the lefthander tried to loft it but could only offer a return catchSmith and his proteacutegeacute Labuschagne then added another 36 but once Jadeja started finding the rhythm both were in tanglesJadeja who has dismissed Smith 10 times across formats hoodwinked his bunny with subtle variationsAlso ReadIs it coming home IndiaScared of getting trapped leg before wicket Smith was consistently trying to keep his pads outside the line of Jadejas deliveriesJadeja who was bowling at a pace around 9697 kmph and not actually turning it much gauged his bunnys apprehensionThe next delivery Kuldeep bowled was at least 5 kmph slower and the ball turned way more than usual In his bid to negate the legbefore possibility Smith didnt cover the delivery which turned past his bat to dislodge the bailsWith Australia in a spot at 110 for 3 and runrate taking a hit Labuschagne went for an uncharacteristic sweep shot which isnt his forte and the undercutter bowled by Jadeja found a faint edge into KL Rahuls glovesAlex Carey 0 with not much wherewithal to survive against spin also got a skidder which instead of playing on the frontfoot was negotiated on the backfootFrom 110 for 2 Australia slumped to 119 for 5 and there was no looking back for Indian bowlersKuldeep and Ashwin then came for their next spells and Big Show Glenn Maxwell 15 who was already under pressure played a lousy slog against Kuldeep with fatal resultsCameron Green 8 got a delivery that bounced and his cut shot went straight to Hardik Pandya as the match took a disastrous turn for the AussiesWith agency inputs