Is India's demolition of Australia a sign of things to come?

Indians basked in rediscovered pride in their cricketers after Virat Kohli and KL Rahul inspired a thumping victory over Australia in front of a fullhouse at ChepaukIt was I dare say less fever and more fastforward on Sunday night the manner in which the Indian toporder floundered against pace and wickets tumbled on a favourable pitch But the Blue Army were all smiles in the end Unburdened by their past failures in the same format against the same opponents India truly laid bare their more lsquofanciedrsquo limitedover rivals in the sultry Chennai heatAlso ReadICC World Cup 2023 India vs Afghanistan heres all you need to knowCoach Rahul Dravidrsquos men couldnrsquot have dreamt of a more satisfying start to their World Cup campaign Three early wickets saw them teeter at the start of their reply before Kohli and Rahul looked to be steadying the innings The pair far from being cowed by Australiarsquos early breakthrough shared in a 165run stand to lead India out of perilBefore the implacable KohliRahul unleashed their venom on the Aussies spin expert Ravindra Jadeja produced a telling burst of three for 28 in 10 overs and received fine support from Ravichandran Ashwin Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah who took two wickets apiece as the Aussies folded for 199 in 493 overs in what was their historic 150th ODI meeting with IndiaJasprit Bumrah incredibly consistent on any surface handed hosts the impetus by trapping Mitchell Marsh for a sixball duck The implosion had taken its course way earlier as veteran David Warner and Steve Smith batted with evident fear on a pitch where hitting through the line only meant trouble A cunning Rohit Sharma made best use of the situation and put his spinners to work without much ado However there was a resistance that might not be remembered in the larger scheme of things with Warner and Smith adding a commendable 69 runs making India wait a good 13 overs to scalp their second wicketIt was a nervy stay in the middle marked by at times desperate running but runs did not seem to come easily on the bat In all there were nearly 29 overs worth dot balls by India but perhaps it could all have been different had Pat Cummins and Co held on to their chances The Indian spinners collectively bowled 101 dot balls and Australia could do little about itThe everdependable Jadeja who knows the pitch like the back of his hand became the lethal ingredient in Rohitrsquos persistent formula of setting his spinners after Aussie batters on Chennairsquos turning tracks And it instantly paid off In fact the menacing allrounder Jadeja exploited the lsquocorridor of uncertaintyrsquo to a great effect as he hit the same spot with virtually every ball with tension brewing in the Australian dugout His effortless attempts at luring batters out of the safety of the crease with a vicious web of leftarm spin mastery was nonetheless a sight to beholdThe gears shifted a little later after Australian speedsters came out all guns blazing to rattle the triumvirate of Rohit Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan While leftarm quick Mitchell Starc broke Indiarsquos back by sending Ishan back for a duck in the very first over Josh Hazlewood struck twice in the next to trap Rohit lbw for nought and then caught Iyer at cover to send the home crowd into sombre silence The extremely proportionate Hazlewood nearly made it four down when he got Kohli batting on 12 to topedge a delivery only for Mitchell Marsh to drop a skier The drop had about it the feel of a matchturning moment Soon after Kohli finally opened up and with solid help from Rahul saw his side snatch victory from the jaws of defeatAustralia have long since been so flat on a cricket field Their cool calm veneer so evident otherwise was oddly absent Perhaps they thought it would be easy another routine win over India after the 66run consolation win in Rajkot nearly a week ago It was a collapse of mammoth proportions as they were flummoxed by the skill and guile of the deadly spinners from IndiaHowever their stranglehold was also thanks to a superb batting display set up by Kohli and Rahul the latter smashing eight boundaries and two sixes in an typically rapidfire innings of 97 not out off 115 balls Ably supported by their bowling talents the Indian middleorder made the tricky 200run target seem like a cakewalk on a testing track although they took 412 overs to achieve itBut what does this triumph mean in the wider context of international cricket Is India as good as Australia made them look Indias strength in depth is tremendous with a massive stock of bowlers to call upon should anyone fall short of form They have young spinners in Kuldeep and Axar Patel vying for a place although the latter has been sidelined by injury with none sure of a regular spot in the side This competition for selection stifles complacency and encourages quality performancesHowever Australiarsquos uncharacteristically dismal campaign in the opener will haunt them more than one can imagine As captain Cummins was quoted as saying in the postmatch press conference facing the spinners was tough and it was the kind of wicket you had to get yourself inrdquo while also admitting his team had been lsquo50 runs shortrsquo His bowlers always likely to be his strength failed to remain frugal in their defence of a modest 200 Besides erroneous bowling and sloppy fielding questions have swirled around their batting and not all of them were answered satisfactorilyYou can nevertheless expect them not to be so forgiving next time They will meet South Africa in Lucknow on Thursday Having lost both ODI series to South Africa and India only a month ago a comfortable win in Rajkot and a mammoth score against Pakistan in the World Cup warmup will give Australia the confidence that their best isnt far off And they could be firing on all cylinders before you know If you know you know