India vs Australia 2017, 1st ODI: Hits and Misses

India's successful stint under captain Virat Kohli extended itself yet again on Sunday when the hosts went on to dominate Steve Smith's men in the first match of the ODI series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

After electing to bat first, India suffered three back-to-back blows with the dismissals of Ajinkya Rahane, Kohli and Manish Pandey in the first ten overs of the game. However, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar collaborated in steadying the Indian ship and steering it to a safe shore.

India reached a total of 281/7 at the end of 50 overs. The second innings of the game was curtailed due to recurrent rains and Australia's target was revised to 164 off 21 overs by the DLS method.

Smith's men failed to withstand the steady probing of the Indian bowling attack and succumbed to its consistency. David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner tried to create an impact on the proceedings, but lost their wickets at crucial junctions of the match.

Let's look at the biggest hits and misses in the match and analyze their performance.

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#1 Hit: MS Dhoni

The relationship between MS Dhoni and Chennai is one of the strongest and most beautiful stories of a cricketer and the city that eventually became his second home.

The man walked out to the loudest cheer from the crowd when his team was in a spot of bother at 64/4 at the end of 16 overs. He played with his usual composure to guide India to a respectable total before getting dismissed in the final over of the game.

The former Indian captain has shown that he is still second to none when it comes to accessing a situation and adapting to it. He scored 79 off 88 deliveries and stitched crucial partnerships with Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The right-handed batsman has been unstoppable ever since he stepped onto the field in Sri Lanka last month and seems to have driven into the second lap of his glittering international career.

What a relationship between a man and an adopted city. MS Dhoni and Chennai.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 17, 2017

#2 Miss: Virat Kohli

The Indian skipper seems to have carried his form from the Australian Test series earlier this year into this ODI series.

The 28-year-old was dismissed for a duck by Nathan Coulter Nile in the sixth over of the innings. Kohli had to return to the pavilion without troubling the scorers and could not do anything special with the bat yesterday.

This isn't a worrisome sign for him as of yet, but if he fails to score well over the next couple of days, the Australian bowling attack might soon become a thorn in his side.

#3 Hit: Hardik Pandya

Pandya's finishing prowess is rearing its surplus head in every next game this season. The fast-bowling all-rounder has most definitely been India's most exciting prospect over this season.

The man came in at 87-5 and built an incredible stand with Dhoni to help India reach a total to 205-5 in 41 overs.

The youngster rose to prominence after his electric campaign in the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year. He hasn't stopped since then and continues to impress cricket enthusiasts all across the world.

It was in the opening game (as well as the final) of the Champions Trophy when the swashbuckling batsman hit three consecutive sixes in an over. He followed suit in yesterday's game as well and completed three mammoth strikes of Adam Zampa's meagre-looking bowling.

The 23-year-old made 83 runs off just 66 deliveries in the first innings of the game and also picked up two wickets in the second innings.

He was given the Man of the Match award for his all-round performance in the match.

Wonderful to see the growth in Hardik Pandya. That was serious hitting

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 17, 2017

#4 Miss: Ajinkya Rahane

India's reserve opener for limited overs cricket failed to make a mark against Australia when he was brought in place of injured Shikhar Dhawan for the game.

He looked uncomfortable from the word go, could not find a way out of his misery and finally ended up giving his wicket to the constant pressure from Nathan Coulter Nile.

The man from Mumbai had an excellent ODI tour in West Indies where he had four fifty-plus innings in five games to his name. He also won the Man of the Series award for the same.

However, he has been unable to perform in the two matches he was drafted in for after that series. He failed in India's last ODI match in Sri Lanka last month and was dismissed for a poor total of 5 in yesterday's encounter against Australia.

KL Rahul is waiting in the wings as the next reserve opener and if Rahane wants to find a place in the ODI side, he needs to capitalise on the opportunity that he will get in the next two games of the series.

#5 Hit: Nathan Coulter Nile

The Australian pace attack will miss the services of regular first-team bowlers like Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in this series.

Nathan Coulter Nile was one of the changes that were incorporated in the team squad following their unavailability, and has responded to the challenge beautifully.

The 29-year-old breathed fire in his first spell of the innings, and scalped three quick wickets on the trot. Rahane was his first victim, who edged the delivery outside off-stump to the slip quadrant.

It was then followed by Coulter Nile's moment of the game, where he dismissed Kohli in the very next cover, courtesy a sensational catch from Glenn Maxwell at point. He also took the wicket of Manish Pandey in the same over to cap a sensational spell of pace bowling from the Australian.