India vs Australia 2017, 1st ODI: Hits and Misses
India's successful stint under captain Virat Kohli extended itself yet again on Sunday when the hosts went on to dominate Steve Smith's men in the first match of the ODI series at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
After electing to bat first, India suffered three back-to-back blows with the dismissals of Ajinkya Rahane, Kohli and Manish Pandey in the first ten overs of the game. However, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar collaborated in steadying the Indian ship and steering it to a safe shore.
India reached a total of 281/7 at the end of 50 overs. The second innings of the game was curtailed due to recurrent rains and Australia's target was revised to 164 off 21 overs by the DLS method.
Smith's men failed to withstand the steady probing of the Indian bowling attack and succumbed to its consistency. David Warner, Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner tried to create an impact on the proceedings, but lost their wickets at crucial junctions of the match.
Let's look at the biggest hits and misses in the match and analyze their performance.
#1 Hit: MS Dhoni
The relationship between MS Dhoni and Chennai is one of the strongest and most beautiful stories of a cricketer and the city that eventually became his second home.
The man walked out to the loudest cheer from the crowd when his team was in a spot of bother at 64/4 at the end of 16 overs. He played with his usual composure to guide India to a respectable total before getting dismissed in the final over of the game.
The former Indian captain has shown that he is still second to none when it comes to accessing a situation and adapting to it. He scored 79 off 88 deliveries and stitched crucial partnerships with Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The right-handed batsman has been unstoppable ever since he stepped onto the field in Sri Lanka last month and seems to have driven into the second lap of his glittering international career.