Australia vs India: 5 Things that went unnoticed from the 1st ODI
After a historic Test series win over Australia, India gets ready for some white-ball action as they take on the Aussies in the three-match ODI series. This also kickstarts India's campaign in their lead up to the World Cup.
With only 13 games before the tournament in England, India would want to use every opportunity to try their best possible combination going into the mega-tournament. The three ODIs against Australia might see India tinkering with their XI as they look for a backup for every possible spot.
In the first ODI at Sydney, the hosts won the toss and opted to bat first as they feature a new look ODI side in their retro look. To start off things, Australia didn't witness the best of opening partnership as skipper Aaron Finch was bowled in the third over.
But the middle-order eased out things as Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh stitched in a crucial 92-run partnership before the former was adjudged lbw against Jadeja. Peter Handscomb looked comfortable as he stroke his way to a well made 73 of 61 deliveries.
India kept things tight as Australia failed to up the ante even in the death overs. Courtesy some quick runs at the end from Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell, the hosts managed to post 288 in their 50 overs.
Chasing 289, India got off to a dismal start as they lost Shikhar Dhawan for a golden duck in the first over. It went from bad to worse when the tourists saw off Virat Kohli and Ambati Rayudu in a span of three balls inside 5 overs with the score reading only four runs on the board.
Just when Australia could seize the opportunity, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni got together to shift the balance in India's favour. The duo went about frustrating the hosts with nudging balls for 1s and 2s with occasional boundaries.
Though once Dhoni got out, Rohit kept losing partners at the other end despite his 22nd ODI ton for India. Eventually, India lost the game by 34 runs to help Australia go 1-0 up in the 3-match ODI series. Here's a look at 5 things that went Unnoticed from the 1st ODI.
#1 Bhuvneshwar Kumar claims 100th ODI wicket and Dhoni completes 10K ODI runs in blue
India's new ball bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar attained an important landmark in his ODI career in the series opener against Australia at Sydney. Dismissing Aaron Finch in his second over, Bhuvi became the 19th Indian to register 100 ODI wickets in his career.
Playing in his 96th ODI, Bhuvi became the slowest Indian among bowlers to claim this feat. This is also a testimony to his declining prowess in this format in recent times. His ability with the old ball has certainly come down after he was taken for runs in the last couple of series in the death overs.
On the other hand, MS Dhoni also registered 10k ODI runs playing for India. Dhoni had 9999 runs before he entered the ODI series. He walked in at a crucial stage of the match and saw India out of the trouble with an important partnership with Rohit Sharma for the fifth wicket.