Perth, Australia - In a rain-affected encounter at Perth Stadium, Australia defeated India by 7 wickets, spoiling the comeback of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The match, plagued by multiple rain delays, was eventually reduced to a 26-over-a-side affair.
Australia won the toss and elected to bowl first, a decision that proved fruitful as their seamers exploited the bouncy Perth deck. India's batting lineup struggled, slumping to 4-45 early on. Josh Hazlewood struck first, dismissing Rohit Sharma for 8, with Matthew Renshaw taking a catch in the slips. The return of Virat Kohli was short-lived, as he departed for a duck, caught by Cooper Connolly off Mitchell Starc's bowling. Shubman Gill also failed to make an impact, falling for 10 to Nathan Ellis.
Rain interrupted play multiple times, reducing the game to 49, 35, and eventually 26 overs. KL Rahul's late surge, which included consecutive sixes off Matt Short, helped India reach a total of 136 for 9. Nitish Kumar Reddy contributed a useful cameo of 19 not out, hitting two sixes in the final over.
Chasing a revised target of 131 under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, Australia reached the target in 21.1 overs. Despite losing Travis Head early for 8, Mitchell Marsh anchored the chase with an unbeaten 46 off 52 balls. Josh Philippe provided valuable support with a brisk 37 off 29 balls. Matt Renshaw remained unbeaten on 21, hitting the winning single on his ODI debut.
Australia's victory snapped India's eight-match winning streak in ODIs and marked their first ODI win at Perth Stadium. Mitchell Marsh was named player of the match for his crucial innings.
The match was marred by sporadic showers, with four rain delays totaling three hours and 40 minutes. Despite the interruptions, a crowd of 42,423 witnessed Australia's dominant performance. The second ODI of the series will be played on October 23 in Adelaide.
