3 mistakes made by India in the 1st ODI vs Australia ft. Washington Sundar

India succumbed to a seven-wicket defeat in the first ODI against Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday, October 19. Nothing went right for the Men in Blue in their first outing of the white-ball tour Down Under.

There have been a number of criticisms leveled at head coach Gautam Gambhir for India's tactics in recent times. In Perth as well, Shubman Gill and Co. found wanting from a strategic perspective on several occasions, right from their team combination announced at the toss to their in-game decisions.

On that note, here are three mistakes made by India in the first ODI against Australia.

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#3 India should've sent in Nitish Kumar Reddy ahead of Washington Sundar

Australia v India - ODI Series: Game 1 - Source: Getty

When Axar Patel fell at the end of the 20th over, India needed to make the most of the six overs that remained. They had only 84 runs on the board, and the rain reducing the contest to a 26-over shootout meant that they had serious work to do.

In that situation, India chose to send in Washington Sundar ahead of Nitish Kumar Reddy, presumably to maintain a left-right combination at the crease. Even if they wanted to take on Matt Kuhnemann, Reddy was probably a better option, as he displayed with his two sixes in the final over.

Sundar managed 10 runs off as many balls, dismissed while trying to reverse sweep Kuhnemann. Reddy, meanwhile, made the most of his short stay at the crease, making an unbeaten 19 off 11.

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#2 India's top order looked completely bereft of ideas in the powerplay

Australia v India - ODI Series: Game 1 - Source: Getty

India got their batting strategy all wrong in the opening powerplay. Against Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Ellis, the Men in Blue didn't play smart cricket that had the conditions in mind.

With a bit of rain around, the Aussies had a bit of movement in the air and off the pitch to go with high bounce at the Optus Stadium. However, while Rohit Sharma tried to slog across the line multiple times, Virat Kohli was insistent on trying to force deliveries off the front foot through the cover region.

India should've definitely given themselves a bit more time against the new ball, particularly with Rohit and Kohli coming off long-term breaks from top-level cricket.

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#1 The Men in Blue dropped Kuldeep Yadav

India v Pakistan - Asia Cup Final - Source: Getty

It was perhaps always on the cards, given Gautam Gambhir's insistence on batting depth. However, that does not excuse how poor a decision it actually was to drop Kuldeep Yadav.

As the game turned out, Kuldeep wouldn't have been decisive in the second innings. But India need to understand that they cannot drop one of the world's best spinners, especially in the current form he's in. The left-arm wrist-spinner has been a match-winner in ODIs for a few years now, having been integral to their 2023 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy campaigns.

Kuldeep simply must play, irrespective of the conditions. Without him, India will find it near-impossible to maintain any control over the middle overs, which is arguably the most important phase in an ODI innings.

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