Australia draws first blood and defeats India comprehensively in the first ODI at Sydney. Aaron Finch and his men were clinical in every department whereas team India looked rusty. Batting first the Aussies pilled on the runs and took full advantage of the batting track at SCG. The opening combination of Finch and Warner commanded the Indian bowlers and registered an outstanding 156 runs opening stand.
Aaron Finch led from the front with the bat and notched up his 17th ODI hundred. The Aussies skipper scored 114 runs whereas Warner made a well compiled 69 and laid the platform for their explosive middle-order to post an enormous total. After the fall of the first wicket entered India’s nemesis Steve Smith and he produced a great ODI knock.
Australia was eyeing a big total and Smith after getting set accelerated against both pace and spin. The Aussie number 3 at his home ground scored yet another ODI ton against his favourite opponents. He recorded the 3rd fastest ODI century by an Australian and scored an unbeaten 105 in mere 66 deliveries that included 11 fours and 4 sixes.
Australia Defeats India In The First ODI
On the back of this splendid knock, Australia posted a huge score of 374 runs on the board. Team India in the field was sloppy and missed a lot of chances. Also with the ball, the fast bowlers were wayward and gave away too many runs both at the start and the death overs. The pick of the bowlers was Mohammed Shami who picked 3 wickets in his 10 overs spell and gave away 59 runs.
It was always going to be a mountain to climb for team India but they started strongly courtesy of Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal. The new opening pair of India played aggressively upfront and had the Aussie bowlers on the backfoot. Then Josh Hazelwood came to the fore and dismissed Agarwal and provided his team with the much-needed breakthrough.
The Indian skipper Virat Kohli looked in a counter-attacking mood and even after getting dropped on 1 continued playing his strokes. Once again it was Hazelwood who gave India a big blow and sent Kohli packing for 21. Then India lost the wickets of KL Rahul, Iyer and it seemed the hosts will win by a huge margin.
Steve Smith Was Different Class- Aaron Finch
Later the partnership of Shikhar Dhawan and Hardik Pandya gave them an outside chance as they kept scoring freely in the middle order. Pandya was exceptional and played his natural game on the other hand Dhawan played smartly and picked his spots to score runs.
However, in trying to up the ante Dhawan departed and Pandya too missed a well-deserved century as Australia wrapped up the first ODI by 66 runs. The best Aussie bowler on the night was Adam Zampa who once again troubled India and picked 4 wickets. Here’s what the winning captain Aaron Finch said in the post-match presentation.
“Found it reasonably hard to get my timing. Took a couple of chances, got lucky. We’ve barely been together as a team. Each guy has different strengths and weaknesses. You embrace that. Davey, he’s moving beautifully. His rhythm looked outstanding. Smudge (Steve Smith) was a different class altogether. Maxi, the rare ability he’s got to just click his fingers and put pressure on the opposition”.
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