Australia beat India in rain-marred Perth ODI: Key stats
What's the story
Australia beat India in the 1st of the three-match ODI series at Perth Stadium on October 19. The Men in Yellow successfully chased down the revised target of 131 (DLS method) in a 26-over-a-side affair. Mitchell Marsh and Josh Philippe led the charge for Australia. Earlier, the likes of Axar Patel, KL Rahul, and Nitish Kumar Reddy led India's fightback after a top-order collapse.
Start
Top order falters in Gill's captaincy debut
The series opener that marked Shubman Gill's ODI captaincy debut saw India struggle in the first hour. Rohit Sharma fell to Josh Hazlewood despite a defiant start. India lost their next wicket in the form of Virat Kohli. The latter fell to Mitchell Starc, leaving India at 21/2. Gill, who hung around, was then dismissed by Nathan Ellis in the ninth over.
Interruptions
Perth ODI affected by rain interruptions
While Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer began India's fightback, rain briefly halted play in Perth. The match was cut down to 49 overs per side. However, another rain break after a while pushed the officials to reduce the match to 35 overs per side. The third rain break came when India were down to 52/4 in 16.4 overs. It became a 26-over-a-side affair thereafter.
Duck
Rare duck for Kohli Down Under
According to Cricbuzz, Starc has become the second bowler to dismiss Kohli for a duck twice after James Anderson across formats. Notably, the Indian batter has fallen to Starc eight times in international cricket. This was the first instance of Kohli recording a duck in 30 ODI innings in Australia. He has slammed 802 runs from 19 ODI innings at 44.55 Down Under.
Innings breakdown
Late flourish despite collapse
After the break, Axar and Rahul kept India afloat by rotating the strike. However, with Axar falling to Matthew Kuhnemann in the 20th over, India were down to 84/5. Rahul then stepped on the gas, taking India past 100. He accelerated by striking Matthew Short for consecutive sixes. Mitchell Owen finally dismissed Rahul for a 31-ball 38 (2 fours and 2 sixes).
Information
Fine finish from Nitish Reddy
From 115/5, India slumped to 124/9 in no time. However, debutant Nitish Reddy's 11-ball 19* bolstered the visitors. He hammered 2 sixes in the final over, bowled by Kuhnemann, to propel India past 130.
Bowling
What about Australia's bowlers?
Australia's bowlers capitalized on the overcast conditions in Perth. Hazlewood was particularly effective, taking two wickets for 20 runs in his seven overs (2 maidens). Left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann and pacer Starc also claimed a wicket each. Matthew Short conceded 17 runs in his lone over. Despite the rain interruptions, Australia's bowlers maintained their composure and kept India's innings in check.
Milestone
Fifth Indian with 500 international caps
Rohit, in his comeback match, joined several Indian legends in the 500-match club in international cricket. He became the fifth Indian to do so. He is only behind Sachin Tendulkar (664), Kohli (551), MS Dhoni (535), and Rahul Dravid (504) in this regard. Rohit, who now plays only ODIs, has featured in 159 T20Is and 67 Tests. He made his 274th ODI appearance.
Do you know?
India lose another toss
Australian captain Marsh earlier won the toss and elected to field first. According to Cricbuzz, India have lost their last 16 tosses in ODI cricket. They last won the toss in the 2023 ICC World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium.
AUS summary
How Australia's innings panned out
Despite defending an under-par total, India broke through early. Arshdeep Singh dismissed Travis Head (8) in the second over. However, Marsh kept the scoreboard ticking along with Short. Axar then brought Australia down to 44/2, dismissing Short (8). The 55-run stand between Marsh and Josh Philippe took the match away from India thereafter. While Philippe departed, Matt Renshaw (21*) and Marsh got Australia home.
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Marsh completes 100 ODI sixes
Marsh led Australia from the front in Perth. He hammered 46* off 52 balls with the help of 2 fours and 3 sixes. During the match, Marsh completed 100 sixes in ODI cricket. He now has 3,046 runs from 97 ODIs at 37.60.