Australia cricket team star bowlers Josh Hazlewood (3/47) and Adam Zampa (4/54) ensured that the Indian cricket team's key batsmen don't fire and accelerate their innings after getting set as Aaron Finch-led Australia clinched the series opener against Indian by 66 runs on Friday, being played at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
It was an amazing all-around cricketing performance by the Aussies as before restricting the visitors to 308/8 in 50 overs, Aaron Finch (114) and Steve Smith (105), backed by quick-fire knocks from David Warner and Glen Maxwell, helped the hosts set a herculean 375-run target. This was team India's fourth successive defeat in 50-over format - first time the Men in Blue lost four ODI games in a row since Jan 2016.
For India, Hardik Pandya (90 off 76 balls) joined Shikhar Dhawan (74 off 86 balls) when India were in deep trouble at 101/4 and then the duo batted well together as they staged a fightback with a century stand and helped their team recover after losing KL Rahul (12), Virat Kohli (21) and Shreyas Iyer (2) in quick successions. Just when it seemed that the duo's power-packed performance (146-run stand) would help India get a historic win, Aussie spinner Adam Zampa removed both Hardik and Dhawan in quick successions.
Now team India's focus had shifted from chasing the score early to improving the run-rate in the chase. 125 runs were required in the last 10 overs with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (25 off 37 balls) on the crease as India's last recognized batsman. Zampa cleaned up Jadeja for 25 to get his 4th wicket. This wicket was now very much the match for Aussies and they won the 1st ODI by 66 runs.
Ind vs Aus: Warner and Finch's Strong Foundation Powers Australia To 374-Run Total At Sydney
Earlier, Australian skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bat first against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Batting first, Australia scored 374 runs at the loss of 6 wickets in 50 overs.
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In this match against India, skipper Aaron Finch (114) and Steve Smith (105) scored centuries. The Australian batters scored fiercely against Team India's star spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and fast bowler Navdeep Saini.
Ind vs Aus: Yuzvendra Chahal concedes the highest runs by an Indian spinner in ODI cricket
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal gave away 89 runs in his 10 overs as well as dismissed Aussie batsman Marcus Stoinis. With this, Chahal conceded the highest runs by an Indian spinner in an One-Day-International game.
The young leggie broke his own record in this match. Last year, Chahal gave 88 runs in 10 overs in the World Cup 2019 match against England. Piyush Chawla is in this list after Chahal.
Ind vs Aus, 1st ODI: Playing XI for the First ODI at Sydney Cricket Ground
India Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli(c), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini
Australia Playing XI: Aaron Finch (c), David Warner, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschange, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa