All-rounder Vijay Shankar became the surprising hero for India as the hosts defeated Australia by eight runs at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Tuesday.
With 11 runs needed from the final over and Marcus Stoinis in top form, Shankar kept his calm and with two wickets in three balls, he was able to clinch the match for the Men in Blue.
The two frontline seamers – Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami – were both done with their quota of ten overs and although Kedar Jadhav had two overs left, Kohli handed the ball to Shankar and he did not disappoint.
On the first ball of the over, Shankar trapped Stoinis in front of the wickets (LBW) for 52 and then followed it up with the wicket of Adam Zampa on the third ball of the over as he castled the tail-ender for a duck.
Earlier in the day, Virat Kohli waged a lone battle to haul India to 250. The Indian captain was classy – he ran hard and pierced the gap for nine sweetly timed boundaries. Kohli did not hit a single six in his innings and the only aerial shot resulted in his dismissal in the 48th over. India could add only two more runs to the total but Kohli had ensured his bowlers had enough to defend.
Kohli also became the fastest to 9000 international runs as a captain.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
👏👏👏#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/OTkDUVG25u
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 5, 2019
The boys are on a roll! What a way to win 500th ODI. Congratulations #TeamIndia for bringing another win home and making it 2-0. #IndVsAus
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) March 5, 2019
Brilliant century from Virat , outstanding death over bowling from Bumrah and Vijay Shankar holding his nerves really well in the end. Bahut badhiya jeet. #INDvAUS
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) March 5, 2019
Another win 🇮🇳👏👏👏 top bowling performance by all the bowlers @Jaspritbumrah93 @MdShami11 @JadhavKedar @imkuldeep18 @imjadeja @vijayshankar260 👏👏👏😊 great team effort 🇮🇳2-0 #INDvsAUS
— Rahul Sharma (@ImRahulSharma3) March 5, 2019
Outstanding innings from Virat but really impressed by how Vijay Shankar soaked the pressure in the last over . Jasprit Bumrah's final 2 overs for just 2 runs was a great exhibition of death over bowling. Congratulations Team India on a fabulous win #INDvAUS
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) March 5, 2019
Solid performance from the boys, especially from Captian Marvel. 💯
Let's make it a clean sweep!! 🇮🇳— Robin Aiyuda Uthappa (@robbieuthappa) March 5, 2019
Marvellous victory. Jasprit Bumrah take a bow, just 2 runs in his last 2 overs, outstanding stuff and this is a great win. Feel very happy for Vijay Shankar, he has got a good head on his shoulder #IndvAus
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) March 5, 2019
Great bowling effort! Hats off to @Jaspritbumrah93 and @vijayshankar260 who won it for India without any doubt! 🇮🇳#INDvAUS
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) March 5, 2019
Vijay Shankar ki ticket for World Cup is confirmed @vijayshankar260
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) March 5, 2019
Well bowled vijay shankar and great leadership by Virat. A nailbiter finish for the crowd and great result for team India #indvsaus
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 5, 2019
All Vijay Shankar has to do now is avoid invites for Koffee with Karan.
— Abijit Ganguly (@AbijitG) March 5, 2019
No more Doubting Thomases for Vijay Shankar now #IndvAus
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) March 5, 2019
Vijay Shankar guides India to an 8-run win in Nagpur 🙂
SCORECARD: https://t.co/jObnITee8a#INDvAUS #2ndODI #AUSvIND #Cricket #TheCricketTimes pic.twitter.com/sxcvclaG2S— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) March 5, 2019
The ground Shankar is covering with the bat is getting lost with the ball. Soon, India will have to start considering him as a genuine batsman. Won’t give you 3 in a T20 or 6 in an ODI. #IndvAus
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 5, 2019
Vijay Shanker 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🇮🇳🇦🇺🏏
— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) March 5, 2019
Tough loss for 🇦🇺 but a brilliant win from 🇮🇳 #greatmatch 🏏
— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) March 5, 2019
So Virat Kohli reveals that he wanted Vijay Shankar to bowl 46th over but Rohit & Dhoni insisted to let Bumrah & Shani bowl in tandem for next 4 overs as they can get wickets & peg Australia back. And if situation arises, Shankar would bowl 50th one. #INDvAUS
— Navneet Mundhra (@navneet_mundhra) March 5, 2019
Undortunate end to Vijay Shankar’s innings. But he’s been very impressive today, which wouldn’t have been lost on his partner and captain
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) March 5, 2019
Vijay Shankar has been very impressive since the NZ series.✔️all the boxes to bat in the middle order for me.
bat when team under preasure,rotate strike vs spin/pace,can change gears. With his bowling can be an asset but need to remember, he's a batsman who can bowl #INDvAUS— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) March 5, 2019
Late starter in ODI cricket, Vijay Shankar making a strong surge for a place in the World Cup squad
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) March 5, 2019
