The atmosphere, the confidence, our favourite word - BELIEVE - all played an important role in India opening their ICC Cricket World Cup campaign with a seven-wicket triumph over Australia.

India were invited to bowl first, and they bowled out Pat Cummins’ Australia for 199. Barring Steve Smith (46) and David Warner (41), the Aussies struggled to keep up with the pressure enforced by Ravindra Jadeja (3/28), Jasprit Bumrah (2/35) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/42).

The hosts, on the other hand, navigated from an early stumble (2/3) to complete a sensational run chase led by KL Rahul (97*) and Virat Kohli (85). Accompanied by a late cameo from Hardik Pandya (11), the Men in Blue sealed the victory in 41.2 overs. Let’s relive the electric encounter.

Boom Boom opens the floodgates

The trademark run-up, the trademark bowling action, that similar scene of the ball taking an edge off the bat, the ball going into the hands of the fielder, the iconic wide hand celebration and a ROAR of confidence from Jasprit BUMRAH; WE MISSED THIS! And to top it off, it was Virat Kohli with a leaping dive at slip to dismiss Mitchell Marsh for 0. Spoiler alert: Virat Kohli now officially owns the record for most catches (15) for India in ODI World Cups as a fielder.

Jaddu’s triple strike

Ravindra Jadeja’s love affair at his second home at Chepauk continues, as he got not one, not two but three wickets in between his fifth and sixth over. First, he made it inevitable for Steve Smith to beat his delivery (46, 27.1 overs) and his next over, he sent Marnus Labsuchagne (27, 29.2 overs) and Alex Carey (0, 29.4 overs) packing with a caught behind and a plumb LBW dismissal, respectively.

W in Ashwin stands for wickets

After Kuldeep added the wicket of Glenn Maxwell to his bag, Ravichandran Ashwin joined the party. The seasoned spinner nudged Cameron Green to slap his delivery to backward point, where Hardik Pandya completed a simple catch.

Target locked: 200

Following the onslaught bought on by the spinners, the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya dealt heavy blows to the Australian lower order and bowled them out for 199 inside 49.3 overs.

Nervous powerplay

Not the best of starts for India, as they lost their opening three batters - including skipper Rohit Sharma - for ducks. Including a nervous moment where Virat Kohli survived a dismissal while on 12, India scrapped through the initial 10 overs with a score of 27/3.

Rahul & Kohli present ‘The Fifty’

‘Beware the fury of a patient man’ is the quote we can associate with the partnership between KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. From 2/3, the pair revitalized the batting order with their respective half-centuries and a morale-boosting century run-stand.

A twist?

A match-defining 165-run partnership between Virat Kohli and KL Rahul came to an end after the former hit a Josh Hazlewood delivery straight to Marnus Labuschagne at mid-wicket. As he walked off the pitch, King Kohli received a standing ovation to applaud his determined contribution in the need of the hour.

Nah, KL seals it with a six

While Virat departed after completing his role, KL Rahul ensured he would execute the final half of the mission to win HIMSELF. With the original plan to find a boundary four, he dispatched a maximum to extra-cover to remain unbeaten on 97 but seal a WIN for INDIA. What’s more special? Australia were condemned to their first loss in an opening fixture in the ODI World Cup since 1996.

Brief scores: India 201/4 (KL Rahul 97*, Virat Kohli 85; Josh Hazlewood 3/38) BEAT Australia 199 (Steve Smith 46, David Warner 41; Ravindra Jadeja 3/28, Jasprit Bumrah 2/35, Kuldeep Yadav 2/42) by six wickets.