"This is how king plays" - Fans react as Virat Kohli's 85 off 116 helps India beat Australia by six wickets in World Cup match

Virat Kohli once again stepped up for India, this time against Australia in their World Cup opener at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, October 8.

Chasing 200, the right-handed batter smashed 85 runs off 116 balls, including six boundaries. The Delhi-born cricketer also shared a 165-run partnership with KL Rahul as the Men in Blue recovered from 2/3.

Kohli got an early reprieve on 12 during the eighth over, getting dropped after confusion between Alex Carey and Mitchell Marsh at square leg off Josh Hazlewood.

The 34-year-old grabbed the opportunity with both hands to add another 73 runs to his and India’s scorecard. He was eventually dismissed by Hazlewood, caught out by Marnus Labuschagne at mid-wicket.

During his 85, Kohli (2720*) also broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record (2719) for the most runs by an Indian in ICC’s white-ball tournament.

Fans on X (previously known as Twitter) lauded Virat Kohli for his heroics with the bat against Australia. One user wrote:

"That's how Kings play(s). The Man, the legend, the king. You beauty, Kohli."

https://twitter.com/Ashmeet18/status/1711055209483710838

Here are some more reactions:

https://twitter.com/_HamzaPro/status/1711062857801199715

https://twitter.com/RCBTweets/status/1711052263530402094

https://twitter.com/oye__nilesh/status/1711054880390209825

https://twitter.com/pryn1993/status/1711054906495557798

https://twitter.com/Abhik_world/status/1711054951416516711

https://twitter.com/dakshta_p/status/1711054963596812599

https://twitter.com/Srishti27Pandey/status/1711055208841990329

https://twitter.com/iamrealupadhyay/status/1711062527982080375

https://twitter.com/bhogleharsha/status/1711050211584606648

KL Rahul matches Virat Kohli neck-to-neck in the 200-run chase against Australia in 2023 World Cup match

KL Rahul matched Virat Kohli neck-to-neck in the 200-run chase against Australia in the World Cup match on Sunday. The wicketkeeper-batter smashed an unbeaten 97 runs off 115 balls, including two sixes and eight boundaries. He also smashed the winning six against Australian captain Pat Cummins in the 42nd over.

Rahul and Kohli’s heroics came after the five-time World Cup champions Australia reduced the Men in Blue to 2/3 as India captain Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer departed for ducks.

Josh Hazlewood emerged as the pick of the bowlers for Australia, finishing with figures of 3/38, while Mitchell Starc picked up one wicket.

Batting first, Australia were bundled out for 199 in 49.3 overs. Ravindra Jadeja starred with the ball, returning with figures of 3/28, while Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah picked up two wickets. Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up one wicket apiece.

For Australia, Steve Smith and David Warner chipped in with scores of 46(71) and 41 (52), respectively.

Virat Kohli, meanwhile, will next be in action against Afghanistan in the next World Cup game at his home ground – Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on October 11.

Click here to check out the IND vs AUS 2023 World Cup full scorecard.