Australia convincingly defeated India by 7 wickets in a rain-affected opening ODI at Perth Stadium, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The match was reduced to 26 overs per side after multiple rain interruptions.
Australia won the toss and elected to bowl first, a decision that proved fruitful as their pace attack dismantled India's top order. Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc were particularly effective, exploiting the lively Perth pitch. India's captain Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli were all dismissed cheaply within the first nine overs. Rohit Sharma was dismissed for 8, while Virat Kohli, returning to ODIs after seven months, fell for a duck. Shubman Gill also failed to deliver, scoring only 10 runs.
The frequent rain interruptions further disrupted India's momentum. Play was halted multiple times, reducing the game to 49, 35, 32, and finally 26 overs a side. Shreyas Iyer also struggled, adding only one run to his score after a restart before being dismissed for 11 by Josh Hazlewood. Axar Patel (31) and KL Rahul (38) offered some resistance, but Australia's Mitchell Owen dismissed both KL Rahul and Harshit Rana in the same over. A late cameo from debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy (19*) helped India reach a total of 136/9 in their allotted 26 overs. Nitish Kumar Reddy is making his ODI debut at a stadium where he played his debut Test almost a year ago.
Chasing a revised target of 131 runs based on the DLS method, Australia completed the chase in 21.1 overs. Australia also lost an early wicket, with Arshdeep Singh dismissing Travis Head for 8. Mitchell Marsh anchored the innings with an unbeaten 46 off 52 balls, earning him the Player of the Match award. Josh Philippe contributed a quickfire 37 off 29 balls, while Matt Renshaw remained not out on 21.
Mitchell Marsh said after the match that he was proud of the way the young guys came out and took the game on. Shubman Gill praised his team's fight while defending 131.
This victory marked Australia's first ODI win at Optus Stadium in Perth. The next match in the series will be held on October 23 in Adelaide.
