Perth: Australia takes a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series with a dominant victory in this rain-affected encounter. Opting to bowl first on a lively Perth surface, the hosts’ pacers were relentless from the outset. Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc delivered with precision, dismissing Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli cheaply.
Shubman Gill was caught down the leg side, leaving India reeling with their top three gone inside nine overs. The frequent rain breaks further disrupted India’s rhythm, preventing them from finding any momentum.
Hazlewood bowled his full quota in one spell, returning figures of 7-2-22-2, including the wicket of Shreyas Iyer. Contributions from KL Rahul (35) and Axar Patel (31), along with a late flourish from debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy, who struck two sixes in the final over, lifted India to 136 in 26 overs a total that proved insufficient against a confident Australian unit.
The DLS target was adjusted to 131, and Australia made light work of the chase with a clinical performance. Travis Head began aggressively with a couple of crisp boundaries before Arshdeep Singh ended his brief stay.
Matt Short, promoted to No.3, couldn’t leave much of a mark, but skipper Mitchell Marsh steadied the innings with a composed knock, continuing his fine white-ball form. He struck three sixes and two fours inside the first 10 overs before switching gears to play more responsibly. Josh Philippe provided solid support, and together they built a steady 55-run partnership.
Though Matt Renshaw looked slightly tentative early on, he managed to find the fence twice, while Marsh anchored the innings superbly to remain unbeaten on 46 as Australia sealed the win with 29 balls to spare.
