Australia vs India Highlights, 1st ODI at Perth: Australia defeat India by 7 wickets in rain-curtailed Perth ODI

His Test captaincy had begun with a five-wicket defeat against England in Headingley in June, where the Indians had failed to defend a target of 371. Four months later, his tenure as ODI captain begins with a seven-wicket loss against Australia in Perth.

The Headingley defeat, however, was followed by a 336-run series-leveling victory at Edgbaston. Can India produce something simliar four days from now in Adelaide?

It’s also India’s first defeat in the ODI format this year, with the Men in Blue having won all five matches in the Champions Trophy earlier this year.

Australia are left needing 1 to win off 30 balls, and Renshaw does the needful by setting off for a single at the start of Nitish Kumar Reddy’s third over as the hosts chase down the 131-run target (DLS method) with seven wickets and nearly five overs to spare. With that, they go 1-0 up in the three-match series!

It’s also Australia’s first ODI win at the Optus Stadium in four attempts!

Siraj save five runs with an acrobatic piece of fielding at long off after new batter Renshaw attempts to smash Sundar down the ground for a maximum. The pacer times his jump to perfection and pulls the ball back inside in the nick of time to restrict Renshaw to just a single. Five runs collected in the last two deliveries of Sundar’s second over, with Renshaw dashing off for a third after driving the ball through the cover region and Marsh ending the over with a brace. AUS 110/3 after 18; need 21 off 48

Can the Indian pace trio of Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana replicate what Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Ellis had achieved earlier today? Stay tuned to find out.

And given how things have panned out so far along with the fact the Men in Blue are defending just 131, they certainly won’t mind another rain break, preferrably one that results in a washout.

After four rain breaks, we have finally arrived at the end of the Indian innings, although the visitors will be disappointed at collecting just 136/9 after 26 even if they had spent half of those overs planning for a longer innings.

Owen gets rid of Harshit Rana in the final delivery of his third over, with the latter getting a thick top-edge that results in a simple catch for keeper Philippe. Arshdeep Singh is then run out in the second delivery of the final over in a desperate attempt to get Nitish on strike.

The sacrifice does bear fruit with Reddy smashing Kuhnemann for two sixes – both in the midwicket/cow corner region.

Spin introduced for the first time today with left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann bowling the 20th. And after keeping things relatively tidy in the first five deliveries, conceding just four runs, Kuhnemann lures Axar into smashing the ball down the ground, where Matt Renshaw comfortably collects a sitter.

India 84/5 after 20 overs. Just six more overs in their innings. Can they get the Men in Blue close to 150 from here?

The players will be back on the field in 10 minutes’ time. The million-dollar question, however, is – for how long? The covers are starting to come off once again, and here’s hoping the ground staff get a well-deserved break once they get the covers back on the sidelines.

The rain isn’t as heavy as it was around half-an-hour ago, but it’s still lingering on at the Optus Stadium. And even if the play does restart in another 15-20 minutes, there’s no guarantee of an extended period of play instead of the players having to march back to their dressing rooms yet again.

As per Accuweather, rain is likely to affect the proceedings for another hour or so, with showers also being predicted at 5 pm local time (2.30 pm IST).

While one rain break might give the under-fire batters some breathing room after a turbulent phase, the multiple breaks in Perth simply has not allowed the Men in Blue to gain any momentum whatsoever in their innings.

The Australian pacers have also been superb today with captain Mitchell Marsh smartly marshalling his troops so far.

And once again it’s Nathan Ellis whose over gets interrupted, with the seamer bowling four deliveries in his third over before the umpire uproots the stumps yet again.

Wonder if it’s worth implementing retractable roofs at cricket venues across the world?