It was a night to forget for Virat Kohli’s men as Australia thrashed India by a mammoth 10 wickets in the first of 3 ODIs in Mumbai, making this the first time that India has lost by this margin to the Men from Down Under.
Putting India in to bat, Mitchell Starc had Rohit Sharma (10 off 15 balls) back in the hut by the fifth over. Shikhar Dhawan at the other end was struggling, crawling to 3 off 22 balls.
However, the opener eventually found some rhythm and together with KL Rahul, put up a much needed 121-run stand.
Rahul (47 off 61 balls) fell before he could make his half century, lobbing Ashton Agar to extra cover.
Dhawan, who looked good to score a ton, was gone in the next over, dismissed by Pat Cummins for 74 off 91 balls. India at 140/3 in 28.5 overs.
Kohli, batting at number four, didn’t last too long, caught and bowled by Adam Zampa for 16 off 14 balls. Shreyas Iyer (4 off 9 balls) fell in the very next over and suddenly India had gone from 134/1 to 164/5.
Rishabh Pant (28 off 33 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (25 off 32 balls) managed to keep the scoreboard ticking over but it was a below par display from the Men in Blue who were dismissed for 255 in 49.1 overs.
In reply, Australian openers Aaron Finch and David Warner went hammer and tongs at India’s bowlers. It was a brutal display of batting as both batsmen took Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav and Jadeja to the cleaners.
Warner smashed three sixes and seventeen fours in his unbeaten knock of 128* off 112 balls. Finch hit two sixes and thirteen fours in his 110* off 114 balls. Together they put up the highest stand for any wicket against India.
Australia stomped home to a 10-wicket win with 12.2 overs to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.
