IND v AUS 2020, 1st ODI: Australia Player Ratings
Australia coasted to a comprehensive 66-run win over Virat Kohli's India in the 1st ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Centuries from Aaron Finch and Steve Smith, along with a fifty from David Warner and an attacking 40-odd from Glenn Maxwell, took the hosts to a whopping 374/6. Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa shared 7 wickets between them to derail India's chase, with Hardik Pandya's fighting 90 going in vain.
Here are Australia's player ratings from the IND v AUS 1st ODI.
IND v AUS 2020, 1st ODI: Australia's Player Ratings
David Warner: 8/10
Warner was assured at the start, and ran between the wickets very well. The southpaw was slightly unlucky to be given out caught-behind off Mohammed Shami's bowling for 69, and could have easily scored a hundred on another day.
Aaron Finch: 9/10
Finch came into this game in very poor form from the IPL, but he looked confident right from the outset. He overcame a sedate start to register his 17th ODI century, and was more than happy to play second fiddle to Steve Smith despite being well into his innings by then. The Aussie captain was perhaps a bit lax with his bowling changes, and left a lot of overs of spin towards the end of the Indian innings. Thankfully for Finch, the move paid off as India had to take the attack to Zampa and couldn't.
Steve Smith: 8.5/10
Smith scored yet another century against India, this time off just 62 balls. He survived a review off Ravindra Jadeja by the skin of his teeth early on in his innings, and was granted a reprieve by Shikhar Dhawan soon after. The former Aussie captain made superb use of these lifelines, and showed the world why he's one of the best batsmen in the world.
Marnus Labuschagne: 4/10
Coming in as low as No. 6, Labuschagne holed out in the deep in pursuit of quick runs. It was selfless from the 26-year-old, but he did have almost 5 overs left to bat and could've taken a couple of balls to get settled.
Marcus Stoinis: 4.5/10
Stoinis walked back for a first-ball duck as he feathered one behind off Yuzvendra Chahal, but made up for this with 6.2 tidy overs with the ball. The all-rounder was economical and accurate before a suspected hamstring niggle forced him off the field.
Alex Carey: 6.5/10
Like he has done so often for Australia, Carey added the finishing touches to the innings and handed Steve Smith the strike. The wicket-keeper finished on an unbeaten 17, and was tidy behind the stumps.
Glenn Maxwell: 7.5/10
The 19 balls that Maxwell spent at the crease were exhilarating as he played an array of inventive shots to make 45 runs in quick time. He had over 5 overs to bat when he found Jadeja at long-off off Shami, and could've added a lot more runs to the Aussie total. The all-rounder's overs with the ball were expensive as Hardik Pandya and Shami took a particular liking to him, and he dropped two slightly difficult chances in the field as well.
Mitchell Starc: 3.5/10
Starc was horribly erratic in the powerplay (he was taken for 20 in the first over), and looked rusty and out of match practice. The left-armer finished with returns of 1/65 in 9 overs with his sole wicket being that of Shami. He hasn't played top-level cricket in a long time now, and that was woefully apparent in this game.
Pat Cummins: 6/10
It was an indifferent game from Cummins, who was unlucky to not scalp the prized wicket of Kohli early on. He finished with figures of 0/52 in his 8 overs, and will be looking to play a more important role in the coming games.
Adam Zampa: 8.5/10
Zampa was shoddy in the field as he shelled a regulation catch, but made up for the mishap with a superb spell. Finishing with figures of 4/54, the leggie did what was asked of him and provided regular breakthroughs in the middle overs and towards the end of the innings.
Josh Hazlewood: 9/10
Hazlewood was brilliant in this game and finished with figures of 3/55. Without much swing on offer, he adjusted his length brilliantly to prise out Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer with well-directed short balls within the first 10 overs to put India firmly on the backfoot. The tall pacer is truly a great bowler irrespective of the format, and he's slowly but steadily proving the same.