PERTH: The much-anticipated comeback of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma turned out to be brief, lasting just 22 balls, as India slumped to a seven-wicket defeat against Australia in a rain-hit first ODI on Sunday.
Frequent rain interruptions reduced the match to 26 overs per side, and India, asked to bat first, could muster only 136 for 9. Australia were set a revised DLS target of 131, which they comfortably chased down in 21.1 overs to take a 1–0 lead in the three-match series.
Travis Head fell early to Arshdeep Singh, slicing a catch to Harshit Rana at deep third man, while Matthew Short departed cheaply. But skipper and local hero Mitchell Marsh (46*, 52b) steadied the chase with a solid 55-run stand alongside Josh Philippe (37, 29b), ensuring there were no major hiccups for the hosts.
India’s pace attack — Arshdeep, Mohammad Siraj, and debutant Harshit Rana — struggled to control line and length, often feeding the Australian batters with loose deliveries. Marsh punished them mercilessly, hitting a six off each of the three pacers, including a stunning inside-out blow over covers off Siraj. Philippe’s lively knock further eased the chase before Marsh sealed the win in style.
Earlier, persistent rain and a fiery new-ball spell from the Australian pacers left India on the back foot. Only KL Rahul (38 off 30) showed some resistance with a composed innings that included crisp drives and pulls.
India’s innings began with Rohit Sharma (8), playing his 500th international match, and new captain Shubman Gill opening the batting. Rohit briefly delighted the crowd with a trademark straight drive off Mitchell Starc, but his stay ended when Josh Hazlewood extracted extra bounce to have him caught at slip by debutant Matthew Renshaw.
Virat Kohli, welcomed with loud cheers, couldn’t find his rhythm either. Starc, exploiting movement and bounce, drew Kohli into a loose drive that was brilliantly caught by Cooper Connolly at backward point — handing Kohli his first-ever ODI duck in Australia.
Gill and Shreyas Iyer (4) also fell cheaply, both caught behind by Philippe off Hazlewood and Nathan Ellis respectively, leaving India tottering at 45 for 4.
Rahul and Axar Patel (31) revived the innings with a 39-run stand before Axar was dismissed by spinner Matthew Kuhnemann. Rahul looked fluent, especially against the spinners, launching two sixes off Matthew Short in quick succession. A brief cameo from Washington Sundar added 30 runs for the sixth wicket, but India’s innings faltered again in the closing overs.
Brief Scores:
India: 136/9 in 26 overs (KL Rahul 38, Axar Patel 31; Kuhnemann 2/26, Hazlewood 2/20, Owen 2/20)
Australia: 131/3 in 21.1 overs (Mitchell Marsh 46*, Josh Philippe 37)
Australia lead the series 1–0, with the next matches scheduled in Adelaide and Sydney.
