Australia opened their ODI series with a dominant 7 wicket win against India at Perth’s Optus Stadium, in a match marred by rain & disappointment for Shubman Gill on his captaincy debut.
The match was reduced to 26 overs a side after multiple rain interruptions, India were restricted to 136 for 9, undone by incisive bowling from Josh Hazlewood & Mitchell Starc under seaming skies.
Hazlewood, in particular, was outstanding with figures of 2 for 29, exploiting bounce & movement to trouble India’s top order.
The much-anticipated return of Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli failed to lift India. Rohit, looking short of rhythm, edged Hazlewood to second slip for 8, while Kohli’s comeback ended quickly after he nicked Starc to backward point for a duck. Gill’s own stay was brief, falling for 10 to Nathan Ellis as India stumbled to 45 for 4.
Amid the collapse, KL Rahul scored 38 & Axar Patel scored 31, both of them offered brief resistance, adding some respectability to the score. Debutant Nitish Reddy provided late fireworks with 19 off 11 balls, but India never found momentum against disciplined Australian bowling.
Chasing a revised target of 131, Australia approached the innings calmly despite early movement. Stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh anchored the chase with an unbeaten 46 off 52 balls, showing composure & power when required. Josh Philippe marked his ODI return with a fluent 37, while Matt Renshaw scored 21 not out which helped finish the job in the 22nd over.
For India, it was a rusty outing after their Champions Trophy high earlier in the year. Their top order struggled for timing & the bowlers found little assistance once the ball softened. Australia, meanwhile, extended their strong home form, with Marsh’s leadership & Hazlewood’s control setting the tone for the series.
The teams now head to Adelaide for the second ODI on Thursday, where India will look to regroup before the finale in Sydney.
