Mumbai: KL Rahul revelled under pressure with a composed 75 after Mohammed Shami's mesmerising spell of seam bowling as India overcame initial jitters with elan in their comfortable five-wicket win against Australia in the opening ODI here on Friday. India now lead the three-match series 1-0.
After being put in to bat, Australia suffered a dramatic collapse, losing six wickets for 19 runs inside eight overs to get bowled out for 188 in 35.4 overs, courtesy 3/17 from Shami. Mitchell Starc then blew away the Indian top-order with some incisive swing bowling as India were left tottering at 39 for 4 just after the end of the Powerplay.
Skipper Hardik Pandya (25) did stem the rot but India weren't out of the woods when he was dismissed with the scoreboard reading 83 for 5. But Ravindra Jadeja (45 not out, 69 balls), after having bowled nine tight overs of left-arm spin, gave adequate support in his unbroken 108-run stand with Rahul.
India won the game in 39.5 overs. But Rahul does deserve the credit for anchoring the innings in the face of a storm, and has taken to the role of a No.5 keeper-batter like fish takes to water. He enjoys the low-scoring scrappy battles and Friday at Wankhede was one such occasion.
The twilight hour, however, did belong to Starc. The Australian quick moved the new ball dangerously in the air as well as off the surface. He pinned Virat Kohli (4) in front of the wickets off the penultimate ball of the fifth over and, with the final delivery of that over, trapped Suryakumar Yadav leg-before for a first-ball duck.
The right-arm pacer Sean Abbott too got the ball to jag back in, trapping Shubman Gill leg-before but the Indian batter reviewed successfully after being adjudged out. Gill had luck riding in his favour as Australia missed two tough chances behind the wickets, but the Indian could not capitalise.
Starc bowled fuller deliveries outside off to get the Indians to drive, hoping to find edges or shots hit in the air. Deployed on a longer six-over burst, Starc finally succeeded after Gill hit the left-armer for two fours. The bowler had him caught at point for 20 off 31 balls with four fours in all, leaving India in a precarious position at 39/4 in 10.2 overs.
This is when Rahul showed his experience as he didn't take undue risks but, at the same time, punished the loose balls as and when necessary. He hit Adam Zampa into the deep mid-wicket stands. The key was rotation of strike as Rahul and Jadeja ran 56 singles between them. But credit should be given to Pandya for marshalling the resources well on his ODI captaincy debut, albeit as a stand-in one.
The idea to bring in Shami for an early second spell proved to be a masterstroke as Australia from 169/4 just collapsed like a house of cards. He got Jos Inglis to drag one back onto his stumps and then in his next over, the delivery to Cameron Green that sent the off-stump cart-wheeling was a real peach.
It pitched on line of off-stump and Green had to commit but there was a shade late movement that beat the batter and knocked back the off-stump.
The veteran pacer helped India pull things back after an attacking 65-ball 81 from Mitchell Marsh set Australia on the course for a competitive total, as his second spell of 3-2-8-3 broke the back of Australia's resistance after a sparkling start. Shami finished with brilliant figures of 6-2-17-3.
On the other hand, Siraj, who provided an early wicket in the second over, also enjoyed success in his second spell to return with 5.4-1-29-3, snaffling the last two wickets in the Australian innings. Marsh provided Australia with a rollicking start -- cracking 10 fours and five sixes in his first-ever innings as an opener in ODIs -- on his comeback to international cricket after a three-month layoff following an ankle surgery.
Marsh's charge in the first half of the game ensured Australia kept moving briskly towards a big total, but India kept making inroads at regular intervals and eventually bundled them out for a below-par score. (PTI)
Brief scores:
Australia: 188 all out in 35.4 overs (Mitchell Marsh 81; Mohammed Shami 3/17, Mohammed Siraj 3/29).
India: 191/5 in 39.5 overs (KL Rahul 75 not out, Ravindra Jadeja 45 not out, Mitchell Starc 3/49).
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- Hardik Pandya has been removed by Stonis, who contributed to the Indian total with 25 runs. It's on KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja to get India past the Australian scoreline.
- After Ishan Kishan's (3) wicket by Stoinis, Mitchell Starc on account of express pace and swing removed Virat Kohli (4) and then Suryakumar Yadav (0), both of them given lbw by the umpire. Seeing Starc bowling with such a temperament is a treat to watch as India struggles with Shubman Gill and KL Rahul at the crease.
Mumbai: Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj shared three wickets apiece as India bowled out hapless Australia for a mere 188 in 35.4 overs in the first ODI of their three-match series, here on Friday. The collapse was an inexplicable one as Australia lost last six wickets for only 19 runs in a space of 7.5 overs as Hardik Pandya's decision to bring in Shami for a quick second spell turned out to be decisive.
The delivery to Cameron Green that sent the off-stump cart-wheeling was a real peach. It pitched on line of off-stump and Green had to commit but there was shade late movement that beat the batter and knocked back the off-stump. The veteran pacer helped India pull things back in control after an attacking 65-ball 81 from Mitchell Marsh set Australia on the course of a competitive total, as his second spell of 3-2-8-3 broke the back of Australia's resistance after a sparkling start.
Shami finished with brilliant figures of 6-2-17-3. On the other hand, Siraj, who provided an early wicket in the second over, also enjoyed success in his second spell to return with 5.4-1-29-3, snaffling the last two wickets in the Australian innings. Marsh provided Australia with a rollicking start, cracking 10 fours and five sixes in his first-ever innings as an opener in ODIs, on his comeback to international cricket after a three-month layoff following an ankle surgery.
Marsh's charge in the first half of the game ensured Australia kept moving briskly towards a big total, but India kept making inroads at regular intervals and eventually bundled them out for a below-par score. After Travis Head played one onto his wickets off Siraj in the second over, Marsh joined forces with Australia captain Steve Smith for a sturdy 72-run stand for the second wicket.
Smith, yet to record a half-century on the tour, chased one outside off from Hardik Pandya to walk back for a 30-ball 22. Marsh continued with his attack but as he was nearing his second ODI century against India and first since January 2016, he played one shot too many to be dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja.
The Indian spinner bowled a delivery wide on the off-stump, and Marsh mis-hit it to be caught at short third man. Jadeja then produced a stunning one-handed catch to get rid of Marnus Labuschagne (15) off Kuldeep Yadav, and Josh Inglis chopped one onto his wickets off Mohammad Shami as Australia stuttered to 169/5 in the 28th over.
Shami produced a wicket-maiden 30th over in which Shubman Gill dropped a catch at first slip his second in the innings as Green's off-stump went flying after a 19-ball 12. But Gill finally held on to a regulation catch off Shami in the 32nd over to end Marcus Stoinis' (5) innings, sparking a batting collapse for the visitors who slipped from 129/2 to 188 all-out, losing eight wickets for 59 runs.
Glenn Maxwell (8) also flopped with the bat, hitting one straight to Pandya at short midwicket off Jadeja in the 33rd over. Gill improvised further when he put in a dive to his right to help Siraj record his second wicket, with Sean Abbott (0) also failing to make a mark. The right-arm bowler had Adam Zampa (0) caught behind for the final wicket of the innings.
While the Indian pace duo of Shami and Siraj were spot-on, Australia rather found batting easy against the spin pair of Kuldeep and Jadeja, as they gave away 94 runs from a collective 17 overs with three wickets. (PTI)
Brief scores:
Australia: 188 all out in 35.4 overs (Mitchell Marsh 81; Mohammed Shami 3/17, Mohammed Siraj 3/29) vs India.
- Mohammed Shami bowled an unplayable delivery to knock Cameron Green's (12) stumps. Pitched good length on mid-stump, the ball gained a hint of swing to hit the off stump. Marcus Stoinis (5) too edged Shami to the slips. Australia struggling with back-to-back wickets.
- Josh Inglis has been clean-bowled by Mohammed Shami.
- So far in the match, Travis Head (5) has been bowlded by Siraj, Mitchell Marsh, who played an outstanding innings of 81 was sent back to the hut by Ravindra Jadeja while Pandya dismissed Steve Smith on 22 runs. Just when Marnus Labuschagne (15) had started to look threatening, Jadeja took an exhilarating diving catch to send him back on a Kuldeep Yadav's delivery.
Earlier:
India opt to field against Australia in 1st ODI
India's stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bowl first against Australia in the first ODI here on Friday. Hardik is leading the team in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, who is unavailable for the fixture due to family commitments.
The Indian playing XI featured four quicks in Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Hardik and Mohammed Siraj and two spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. For Australia, Josh Inglis came in for Alex Carey, who has flown home due to illness. David Warner hasn't fully recovered from his elbow fracture, and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh will open the innings in his place.
Here's what the captains of the respective teams had to say:
Steve Smith: Good toss to lose. Happy batting first because I didn't know what to do. We got to try our best to adjust to these conditions, and get our combinations right with the WC in mind. I think we played well in the back end (on BGT series), and plenty of fresh faces to choose from. Alex Carey is sick so he has gone home, so Josh Inglis will come in today. David Warner is not yet fully fit, so Mitch Marsh will open the batting. The rest of the changes will come on the big television here soon enough.
Hardik Pandya: We'll bowl first. It is a good track and dew factor will be there. We feel we will do well in the second innings. I got some time off, breaks are like gold dust for me so it gave me a chance to rest and improve. Playing for India every game and every format is important. With this being a WC year, the ODI format is important. We've gone with four quicks - Shardul, Shami, myself and Siraj. Two spinners in Jadeja and Kuldeep.
Teams:
India: Hardik Pandya (capt), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami.
Australia: Steven Smith (capt), Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, , Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(wk), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa.
