Prior to the start of this series, we knew that Virat Kohli and Co. will be facing their biggest challenge after the ICC Champions Trophy and after the first half of the first innings, India vs Australia 2017, 1st ODI seemed to be a one-sided event and might have sent chills down the spines of visitors. However, MS Dhoni (79) and Hardik Pandya (83), once again, turned saviors for India.
After the hosts lost their first three batsmen with only 11 runs on the board as well as two more before even breaching the 100-run mark, MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya took control of the proceedings registered a 118 runs-partnership together at a swift pace, leading India to a respectable total of 281 runs by the end of 50 overs.
Moreover, the short yet substantial innings from Kedar Jadhav (40) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (32*) also made their contribution towards the winning total.
However, wrong shot selection and failure to handle pressure were the two things that both teams suffered from and while Nathan Coulter-Nile while responsible for India’s quick downfall in the powerplay with his tally of 10-44-3, in the second innings, India’s wrist spinners seemed too hot to handle for the Aussies despite the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
In between the worries of a washout, the India vs Australia 2017, 1st ODI was reduced to 21 overs in the second innings and the visitors had a target of 164 runs to chase due to the DLS method.
While Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav finished with the tallies of 5-30-3 and 4-33-2, Hardik Pandya (4-28-2), as expected from an all-rounder, claimed two wickets after giving his contribution with the bat.
Though the target looked comparatively easy, Australia tumbled down as the Kuldeep-Chahal duo circled them around and bagged half of their wickets.
At the end of India vs Australia 2017, 1st ODI, it was a day when MS Dhoni shut all his critics and came back home with a match-saving innings and a day that Virat Kohli and Steve Smith would want end its existence.
Here are some stats from the India vs Australia 2017, 1st ODI.
- A combined total of just one run was scored by Steve Smith and Virat Kohli, which is the lowest by the skippers in any India-Australia ODI.
- This was MS Dhoni’s only second dismissal in nine ODI innings since the 2017 Champions Trophy final.
- During the India vs Australia 2017, 1st ODI, Indian skipper Virat Kohli chose to bat first for only the third time in his whole ODI career. Kohli has won the toss 17 times while opting to chase on 14 of those occasions.
- Hardik Pandya has now hit four international bowlers for three consecutive sixes this year. While Adam Zampa was his fourth victim, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, and Malinda Pushpakumara have faced his wrath earlier.
- Kuldeep Yadav has claimed David Warner’s wicket in four out of five matches the two have played against each other, including IPL and international fixtures.
- This was Virat Kohli’s 27th duck of his professional career and the second this year in 19 innings.
- Kohli has just scored 46 runs against Australia this year with an average of 7.66.
- MS Dhoni completed his 100th international half-century today, 66 of which have come in ODIs, 33 in Tests and only one in T20Is. Moreover, he is now only the fourth Indian cricketer to achieve this feat after the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid as well as Sourav Ganguly.
- With his valiant 79-runs knock, MS Dhoni became the only second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to score over 4000 ODI runs in India.
Visitors now have a lead of 1-0 in the India vs Australia 2017 series and from the looks of it, we are getting way more than what we bargained for. The second ODI is scheduled for 21st September at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.