The openers back among the runs

Going into the Mohali ODI, one of the concerns for Team India was the unusually indifferent form of their opening pair. I say unusual because of the sheer consistency that the duo has displayed ever since they started opening back in 2013 and the stats vindicate that too.

Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, with 4526 partnership runs, are among the top-4 opening pairs in ODIs in the esteemed company of Greenidge-Haynes, Gilchrist-Hayden, and off-course Sachin-Ganguly. The duo put-on 193 for the opening stand at Mohali with Dhawan notching up his highest score [143] in ODI cricket while Rohit Sharma [95] missed out on a well-deserved hundred. Sharma also brought up 3000 ODI runs on home soil in the process.

Min. innings to 3000 ODI runs on home soil-
57- Rohit Sharma/Hashim Amla
63- Virat Kohli

193- The opening stand between Dhawan and Rohit Sharma was the highest 1st wicket partnership for India vs Australia. Incidentally, the last two highest opening stands for India against the Aussies- 178 [Nagpur, 2013] & 176 [Jaipur, 2013], have come through the bat of Shikhar and Rohit Sharma.

Another 350+ total for Team India-

27- instances of India scoring 350+ in ODI cricket- the joint most alongside South Africa. This was also the first instance that Team India went on to lose the game after scoring in excess of 350.

Teams with the most number of 350+ totals in ODI cricket-
27- India/South Africa
18- Australia
15- England
14- New Zealand
08- Sri Lanka/Pakistan

A historic run-chase by Australia-

359- The highest target chased down by Australia in their history of ODI cricket, and the fifth most ever in 50-over cricket.

Highest Target chased down in ODIs-
435, SA vs AUS, Jo'Burg, 2006
372, SA vs AUS, Durban, 2016
361, Eng vs WI, Bridgetown, 2019
360, IND vs Aus, Jaipur, 2013
359, AUS vs IND, Mohali, 2019

Highest total chased down by an opposition team against India. This is also the first time India ended up on the losing side while defending a score in excess of 350. Incidentally, the last highest total chased down against the Men in Blue came in Mohali against Pakistan back in 2007.

Highest total successfully chased against the Men in Blue-
359- by Australia, Mohali, 2019
322, by Pakistan, Mohali, 2007
322, by Sri Lanka, The Oval, 2017
316, by Pakistan, Ahmedabad, 2005
310, by Australia, Perth, 2016

1st- Instance India losing two consecutive ODIs at home since the 3-match series against Pakistan in 2012-13, where the Men in Blue went down at Chennai and Kolkata to squander the series.