AUS vs IND, 1st ODI: Indian batters come unstuck as Australia wins rain-affected series opener
Shubman Gill’s first outing as ODI captain ended in a disappointing seven-wicket defeat to Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday.
After winning the toss and opting to field, the Australian bowlers produced a spell of disciplined, high-quality fast bowling to reduce India to 25/3 inside the first 10 overs. However, its momentum was soon halted by the arrival of inclement weather. Bursts of poor weather meant that the Indian innings was truncated, with the umpires eventually confirming the length of the match to 26 overs per side.
KL Rahul, Axar Patel, and Nitish Kumar Reddy (making his ODI debut) all landed some handy blows as India finished on 136 for nine in its 26 overs.
After the Australian target was reduced to 131 by the DLS method, India made early inroads, with Travis Head and Matthew Short falling cheaply. However, captain Mitchell Marsh and Josh Philippe combined for a partnership of 55 to leave Australia comfortably placed.
Philippe eventually fell to Washington Sundar for 37, but Marsh and debutant Matthew Renshaw saw Australia to the target to give it a seven-wicket win and 1-0 series lead.
The next match in the series is on Thursday, October 23, in Adelaide.
Published on Oct 19, 2025
