Bumrah bowls the final over of the innings. Zampa collects a single off the first ball of the over. Appeal for catch in the second delivery, but replays show Dhoni grassing the chance. WSide off the third delivery. Six runs collected off the remainder of the over, with Australia’s only consolation being playing their quota of overs out, as they finish on 137/9, losing by 26 runs. Preview: Despite steamrolling Sri Lanka over three cricket formats 9-0 in their last tour, India will know all too well that Australia would be a different proposition altogether when the two sides renew acquaintances in the first of the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. India were all over the hapless Sri Lankans in the latter’s own den without having to break sweat. Virat Kohli and Co won all the three Test matches, five ODIs and one T20 international to return unblemished. [caption id=“attachment_4052139” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
India captain Virat Kohli (L) and Australia captain Steve Smith (R). AFP[/caption] But in Australia, the hosts will face stiffer competition simply because of the quality of players the visitors posses. Even without their pace spearheads Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, ruled out due to injuries, the Steve Smith-led side has the likes of Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar to trouble the Indian batsmen. It won’t be smooth sailing for the visitors, though, by any stretch of imagination. At home, India have been rampant over the last year of so winning against New Zealand and England 3-2 and 2-1 respectively in the 50-over format. Indian batters are been in good form with veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni also finding himself among runs in Sri Lanka. Not having Shikhar Dhawan for the three ODIs is a blow as the southpaw has been among runs in all formats lately. Ajinkya Rahane is expected to take his place at the top of the order alongwith opener Rohit Sharma. KL Rahul is also an option. For the Aussies, not having Aaron Finch opening the batting with David Warner is not a perfect arrangement with the dashing right-hander nursing a calf problem. Peter Handscomb has been called on to replace him but Travis Head looks to be the likely partner of Warner. Ahead of the 2019 World Cup in England, India chief coach Ravi Shastri will get to look at his back-up spin options in this series with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja rested. The likes of chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, left-arm spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and all-rounder Axar Patel would vie for spots in the team. Kuldeep and Chahal have done pretty well in the limited chances that they have got since then and even though there’s a perception that wrist-spinners can go for runs, the leggie has an economy rate of 4.14 and the chinaman 3.97 in ODIs. “I look at them as mystery spinners. You never know what’s coming out of their hand. The captain is comfortable to get them into the fray as they can get crucial breakthroughs we look forward to in the middle part of the game,” vice-captain Rohit said on Friday. The Aussies too will rely heavily on their tweakers to get them the wickets. While skipper Steve Smith has made it amply clear that Zampa is a certainty in the playing XI, Agar is also tipped to play a part. The fact that Kerala chinaman bowler K.K. Jiyas flew in to help the Aussies practice on Friday is a clear indication of how seriously the tourists are taking spin. The Aussies have not played ODIs since the ICC Champions Trophy and will look to put aside their disappointing loss to Bangladesh in the first Test in Dhaka. They fought back to triumph convincingly in the second rubber. The Aussies lost 0-2 in New Zealand in the ODIs before the Champions Trophy. Squads: India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami. Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Adam Zampa With inputs from IANS
India vs Australia, Highlights cricket score, 1st ODI at Chennai: Hosts win by 26 runs (DLS Method); go 1-0 up
Bumrah bowls the final over of the innings. Zampa collects a single off the first ball of the over. Appeal for catch in the second delivery, but replays show Dhoni grassing the chance. WSide off the third delivery. Six runs collected off the remainder of the over, with Australia’s only consolation being playing their quota of overs out, as they finish on 137/9, losing by 26 runs.
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The series is off and running though rain almost played spoilsport, but stopped just in the nick of time. Australia must be happy seeing how their fast bowlers bowled upfront. Hardik Pandya is moulding into a world class all-rounder and MS Dhoni extends his legacy with a 100th international half-century. He stayed put when things fell apart. The revised target was more in favour of Australia, but Bumrah and Pandya ripped through Aussie top order, ensuring Australia where never in it. Kuldeep getting Warner was a very pivotal wicket, Maxwell and Faulkner tried with their big hits but the valiant Indian spinners backed by captain fantastic Virat Kohli outdid them.
Was long day with rain delay and it has come to an end. It was great to bring all the live coverage, updates and action. We will continue to do so in the next ODI on 21st September 1:30 PM we will look forward to your company for that game too. Until then Tada!
After 21 overs,Australia 137/9 ( James Faulkner 32 , Adam Zampa 5)
Bumrah bowls the final over of the innings. Zampa collects a single off the first ball of the over. Appeal for catch in the second delivery, but replays show Dhoni grassing the chance. WSide off the third delivery. Six runs collected off the remainder of the over, with Australia’s only consolation being playing their quota of overs out, as they finish on 137/9, losing by 26 runs.
Most international wins for India against an opposition:
114 – Sri Lanka
82 – England
77 – AUSTRALIA*
76 – West Indies
70 – New Zealand
After 20 overs,Australia 130/9 ( James Faulkner 30 , Adam Zampa 1)
Faulkner collects a single in the first ball of the penultimate over. Bhuvneshwar concedes a wide next ball. Coulter-Nile holes out to Jadhav off the third delivery while attempting a slog. Five off the over. Australia need 34 to win off the last six deliveries.
OUT! Coulter-Nile attempts a swipe towards the midwicket region, but ends up offering Jadhav a relatively simple catch near the boundary. India just a wicket away from gaining the series lead now. Australia 127/9
Coulter-Nile c Jadhav b Bhuvneshwar 2(5)
After 19 overs,Australia 125/8 ( James Faulkner 27 , Nathan Coulter-Nile 2)
Faulkner, the last recognised Australian batsman out there, gets a boundary first ball, guiding the ball through the vacant slip region. Bumrah keeps it tight in the remainder of the over, mixing his deliveries up with a couple of slower ones. Seven off the over. Australia need 39 off the last two.
After 18 overs,Australia 118/8 ( James Faulkner 21 , Nathan Coulter-Nile 1)
Chahal bowls his fifth over of the innings, and gets the wicket of Cummins in the first ball of the over after the lower-order batsman gets a thick outside edge. Faulkner smashes the next ball down the ground for a straight, flat six! Nine runs and a wicket off the over, as Chahal signs off with figures of 3/30.
OUT! Cummins’ stay at the crease comes to an end after getting a bottom-edge that lobs over to Bumrah at short third-man. Australia 109/8
Cummins c Bumrah b Chahal 9(7)
After 17 overs,Australia 109/7 ( James Faulkner 13 , Pat Cummins 9)
Faulkner brings up the 100 for Australia with three runs off the first ball of the over, partly thanks to a misfield at long-on. Cummins then smashes the fourth ball towards the deep midwicket boundary. 12 off the over.
After 16 overs,Australia 97/7 ( James Faulkner 7 , Pat Cummins 2)
Chahal drops another chance, albeit a tough one, as Faulkner mishits while attempting a big hit. Due to the absence of fielders in the cover arc, Chahal has to do the running himself. Wade is stumped next ball after coming down the track, with Chahal instantly changing his line and firing it wide. Out walks Pat Cummins, and he nearly gets bowled first ball after getting foxed by a googly. DROPPED! Cummins whacks down the ground, with Rahane spilling the chance after diving forward. Six off the over, with two dropped chances.
OUT! Chahal gets another wicket, this time firing the ball wide after noticing Wade dance down the pitch. Dhoni whips the bails off in a fraction of a second. Wade starts walking even before the umpire can go upstairs. Australia 92/7
Wade st Dhoni b Chahal 9(11)
After 15 overs,Australia 91/6 ( Matthew Wade (W) 9 , James Faulkner 5)
Pandya brought back into the attack in the 15th over of the innings. Wade and Faulkner opt to keep the scoreboard ticking, both getting a double and a single each in the first four deliveries. Wide conceded in the fifth ball. Wade gets hit on his helmet next ball after a top-edge.
After 14 overs,Australia 84/6 ( Matthew Wade (W) 6 , James Faulkner 2)
Wade pats the ball back to Chahal in the latter’s third over, with the ball popping out of Chahal’s outstretched right hand. Wade then sweeps the next delivery towards the midwicket boundary to collect his first boundary. Six off the over.
After 13 overs,Australia 78/6 ( Matthew Wade (W) 1 , James Faulkner 1)
Stoinis joins fellow all-rounder Maxwell in the pavilion not long after the latter’s dismissal, as he gets caught at deep midwicket while trying to slog Kuldeep. Two runs and a wicket off the over.