Team India slumped to a seven-wicket loss in the rain-marred first ODI against Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday, October 19. Shubman Gill, leading the team for the first time in the format, marks his reign with a tame defeat as the batters crumbled against the Australian pacers.
After being put into bat first, India were reduced to 25-3 in the ninth over following a top-order collapse in the first powerplay. The Men in Blue attempted to salvage some momentum, but struggled to do so amid multiple rain breaks in the first innings. The match was eventually reduced to 26 overs per side, as cameos from KL Rahul and Nitish Kumar Reddy took the score to 136-9.
Australia were required to chase down 131 as per the DLS method, and despite an early setback in the form of Travis Head's dismissal, they kept their composure to make easy work of the straightforward run chase. Stand-in skipper Mitchell Marsh led from the front to be the top-scorer and help the hosts scale down the target with more than four overs to spare.
Fans were far from pleased with India's display, particularly their batting, since the target did not prove to be enough to threaten the second-string Australian side. Another section also cited the rain, and the frequent breaks as a factor behind the loss. Here are some of the reactions on social media:
"Lots of learning from this game" - Team India captain Shubman Gill after seven-wicket loss in AUS vs IND 2025 1st ODI
Team India need to win the remaining matches in the series to overturn the 0-1 deficit and record a series triumph. The visitors were far from their best in the opening contest, leaving plenty of work for newly appointed skipper Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir to get to, ahead of the must-win match.
"When you lose three wickets in the powerplay, you always play the catch up game. Lots of learning from this game, lots of things to do well next game. We didn't take the game deep, but we kept ourselves in the game with the ball for the most part. We're very fortunate wherever we play, fans turn up in big numbers. Hope they turn up in Adelaide as well," Gill said during the post-match presentation.
The second ODI between India and Australia is scheduled to take place on Thursday, October 23, at the Adelaide Oval.
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