Australia defeated India by seven wickets in the rain-affected first ODI at Perth on Sunday, ending India’s eight-match winning streak in One-Day Internationals. The match was reduced to 26 overs per side due to multiple rain interruptions, with India posting a below-par 136 for 9, setting Australia a DLS target of 131, which they achieved in 21.1 overs.
Indian openers Rohit Sharma (8) and Virat Kohli (0) returned to the ODI side but had short-lived innings, scoring a combined 8 runs in 22 balls. Rohit, playing his 500th international game, was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood, while Kohli was trapped early by Mitchell Starc, registering his first duck in Australia.
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Australia’s Mitchell Marsh (46*, 52 balls) and Josh Philippe (37, 29 balls) anchored the innings, forming a crucial 55-run partnership that guided the hosts to a comfortable victory. Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Siraj, and Harshit Rana struggled to control runs, allowing Australia to capitalize on loose deliveries, with Marsh hitting sixes off each of them.
Indian middle-order batters, including KL Rahul (38, 30 balls) and Axar Patel (31), added valuable runs, but frequent rain interruptions and early wickets stalled India’s momentum. Vice-captain Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill also fell cheaply to Australian bowlers, reducing India to 45 for four in the 14th over.
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With Kohli and Rohit failing to fire, India now faces pressure in the remaining ODIs in Adelaide and Sydney to regain confidence and performance consistency.
