India’s innings got an early jolt in the first ODI against Australia at Perth as Rohit Sharma fell for 8 runs off 14 balls. The former captain looked in touch early, finding gaps and testing the Aussie bowlers.
But his attempt to go big backfired when Josh Hazlewood unleashed a short-of-length delivery that bounced sharply off the Perth pitch.
Rohit tried to pull it over the leg side, but the extra bounce caught him off guard. He edged the ball to second slip, where Matt Renshaw took a sharp catch. Hazlewood’s precision and pace (137.6 kph) had India reeling early, drawing first blood for Australia in emphatic style.
The bouncy Perth surface immediately made its presence felt, and Hazlewood’s deadly combination of pace, bounce, and movement left Rohit struggling to connect, giving Australia an early advantage.
Virat and Shubman at crease
After 5 overs, India are 15/1, with captain Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli at the crease. Australia got off to a strong start with the ball, with Josh Hazlewood providing the crucial early breakthrough to put India on the back foot.
Earlier, Australia captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and chose to field in the opening match of the three-match ODI series. In team news, India handed all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy his maiden ODI cap, presented by Rohit Sharma.
The Indian lineup featured a pace-heavy attack, with Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Mohammed Siraj leading the bowling.
On the Australian side, batters Matt Renshaw and Mitchell Owen made their ODI debuts, receiving their caps ahead of the clash.
Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
Australia: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Matthew Short, Josh Philippe (wk), Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood.
