Picture : BCCI / Twitter
India batting overcame some early jitters but managed to romp home to victory against Australia in the first ODI at Hyderabad in the five match series. The win gave India a 1-0 lead.
Australian skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bat first. Australia lost wickets at regular intervals and could manage on 236/ 7 in their 50 overs . Not too daunting against the Indian batting line- up.
For Australia after the early loss of Skipper Finch, Usman Khawaja (50) and Glenn Maxwell (40), Marcus Stoinis (37 off 53 balls) and Khawaja added 87 runs for the second wicket were the main scorers. As the Aussies found runs hard to come by.
The Indian bowling did the damage with its tight line and length. And the figures of the bowlers said it all. Mohammed Shami (2/44 in 10 overs) , Kuldeep Yadav (2/46 in 10 overs), Ravindra Jadeja (0/33 in 10 overs) and Kedar Jadhav (1/31) Jasprit Bumrah (2/60 in 10 overs)
Chasing the modest total, India found themselves in big trouble at 99 / 4. Shikhar Dhawan out for ( 0), skipper Virat Kohli (44, 45 balls) and his deputy Rohit Sharma (37, 66 balls) , Ambati Rayudu fell for 13.
But a superb 141 run unbeaten partnership between legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni his 71st ODI fifty ( unbeaten 59 off 72 balls ) and Kedar Jadhav unbeaten on 81 off 87 balls helped India clinch victory in 48. 2 overs with six wickets to spare.
For Australia Nathan Coulter-Nile took 2/ 46 ( 9 0vers) while Adam Zampa took 2/ 49 ( 10 overs)
MSD hit six fours and one six in his knock while Kedar hit 9 fours and 1 six. India reached 240/ 4
