5 talking points from Australia-India 1st ODI

Indian players wearing a dejected look after losing the first ODI in PerthIndia, after posting a good total of 309 in 50 overs, would have expected to defend it much better than they did. However, Australian batsmen, Steven Smith and George Bailey had other ideas as they dominated the Indian bowlers comprehensively to earn the hosts a five-wicket victory in the first ODI at the WACA in Perth.Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli batted brilliantly for India as they put on a 207-run partnership for the second wicket after India lost an early wicket. None of the Australian bowlers except Josh Hazlewood did well with the ball.It seemed like India were a fast bowler short after only two bowlers picked up wickets for India. A flat WACA pitch does not allow any margin for error and it could be argued that most of the Indian bowlers failed to contain Smith and Bailey early in their innings.Whether the flat track that was used in Perth is a sign of things to come is something that India will have to ponder upon. If the trend continues, it will be interesting to see if Dhoni will persist with two spinners or take the chance of using an extra pace bowler who might come in handy on Australian pitches.Here are the five talking points from the first ODI:

#1 Shikhar Dhawan\'s bad form

Shikhar Dhawan did not get a good start to 2016

Shikhar Dhawan's bad run of form seems to have continued into the new year as he got out for a single-digit score. Dhawan had a tough time in the middle as he struggled to tackle the Australian bowling.

Although India got off to a good start and had a run rate of above five an over when Dhawan got out, the 30-year-old left-hander was able to score only nine runs off 22 balls. Hazlewood, who bowled a tight line and length consistently, picked up the wicket of Dhawan as the batsman tried to hook the bowler.

After ending up the 2015 World Cup as India's highest run-getter, Dhawan's form has dipped drastically in ODIs. In the nine innings he played after the World Cup, Dhawan scored only 293 runs at an average of 32.55. He did not score any century and just scored three fifties, all of which came in the Indian subcontinent.

For a batsman who has an ODI average of just under 43, underperforming for almost a year is disappointing especially when the team needs a good start to the batting innings.

It remains to be seen how long MS Dhoni will persist with Dhawan at the top of the batting order. Ajinkya Rahane, who was pushed down the batting order in the first ODI, could very well fill in for Dhawan at the top of the order and stick around with Rohit Sharma to get India off to a good start.

#2 Good start to the year for Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma acknowledging the crowd after scoring his century

Rohit Sharma, who was India's best ODI batsman in 2015 with an average of over 50 started 2016 in the best way possible – with a mammoth century. Although the ton was in a losing cause, India will be hoping that Rohit can continue to build on this impressive start and keep scoring the big ones.

The ability of the 28-year-old to stay at the crease for long periods of time is something that India can bank upon as Rohit can score freely in the slog overs. The unbeaten 171 he scored at the WACA might be termed as a consequence of the flat pitch that was made for the match. But, it cannot be denied that a batsman will have to apply himself in order to get a big score like Rohit did.

Since May 2010, Rohit has played 100 matches and scored seven centuries. The lowest-scoring hundred of those seven hundreds was 137. This is clear proof of the Indian opener's ability to play a long innings when settled in. The only question that remains is whether Rohit will be able to play such innings on a regular basis.

#3 Australian captains batting them to victory

Bailey (L) and Smith (R) were involved in a 242-run partnership

Australia's ODI captains – former and present – George Bailey and Steven Smith were involved in a match-winning partnership of 242 runs that took the game completely away from India.

India picked up two early wickets reducing the hosts to just 21/2 in 4.4 overs. But, what followed was some excellent one-day cricket from Smith and Bailey. It might be argued that Bailey survived an early scare when umpire Richard Kettleborough gave the batsman not out after the ball had brushed his gloves and fell kindly into Dhoni's gloves.

However, following that incident, Smith and Bailey milked the bowlers, running brilliantly between the wickets and rarely played dot balls. Both batsmen got deserving centuries that led the hosts to a five-wicket victory.

In five ODI matches against India, Smith has scored 301 runs and two centuries at an outstanding average of 100.33. Bailey, on the other hand, scored his first century since October 2013 which was also against India.

With both the middle-order batsmen coming into form, Australia will hope for many more better knocks from Smith and Bailey in the forthcoming matches.

#4 Barinder Sran - the best of the debutants

Sran was the pick of the Indian bowlers on a flat track in Perth

Both Australia and India had new names on the roster when the squad for the limited-overs series was announced. Australia named Scott Boland, Joel Paris and Kane Richardson in their squad while India called up Rishi Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Gurkeerat Singh Mann and relative unknown, Barinder Sran.

Boland and Paris made their debuts for Australia, and Sran made his debut for India with Pandey playing his second ODI.

First-match jitters seemed to get to the Australian bowling duo as they failed to pick up any wickets and leaked runs at over six an over. Paris conceded 53 runs in eight overs while Boland finished with figures of 0/74 in his 10 overs.

Sran, on the other hand, was India's best bowler as he picked up three wickets on debut conceding 56 runs in 9.2 overs. The 23-year-old bowler from Punjab removed the dangerous Australian openers – Aaron Finch and David Warner – for cheap scores.

What makes Sran's achievement greater is the fact that he ended the match as the highest wicket-taker in conditions that are familiar to Australian bowlers. Although he does not have electric pace, Sran bowled a fairly good line and length and had a well-disguised back-of-the-hand slower ball. If Sran can build on his promising start, India's bowling troubles might very well lessen in the near future.

#5 Should the BCCI agree to use DRS?

Bailey survived being dismissed after the umpire wrongly ruled him not out

One of the major incidents that happened during the first ODI between Australia and India was umpire Richard Kettleborough's decision to give George Bailey not out after the batsman had gloved it to wicketkeeper, MS Dhoni in the very first ball he faced.

Hotspot replays suggested that the ball had clearly brushed the glove of the batsman. If the umpire had given Bailey out at the time, Australia's scorecard would have read 21/3 in 4.5 overs instead of 21/2. Bailey would have been out for a duck instead of scoring 112 valuable runs for his team.

As the debate about using the Decision Review System (DRS) continues for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), decisions like the one that went in favour of Bailey could cost India games. Yes, it is also true that the converse could affect India occasionally, but it goes without saying that the DRS could help in avoiding significant errors like what happened in Perth today.

After the match, Bailey took a dig at India's refusal to approve the DRS when asked about getting a lifeline when he was on nought, “Would've been interesting to see on DRS, but we're not the team that doesn't want it.”