AUS vs IND 2025-26, 1st ODI, Highlights: Rohit, Kohli disappoint as Australia register a comfortable victory in the series opener.

Brief Scores: AUS 131/3 (21.1) (Mitchell Marsh 46*, Joh Philippe 37, Washington Sundar 1/14) beat IND 136/9 (26) (KL Rahul 38, Axar Patel 31, Josh Hazlewood 2/20, Mitchell Owen 2/20) by 7-wickets. (DLS)
Player of the Match: Mitchell Marsh (46* off 52).
After the two-match home Test series against the West Indies, Team India made a quick turnaround for the three-match ODI series in Australia. The opening 50-over clash at the Optus Stadium in Perth marked the Blue Brigade’s first ODI outing since the Champions Trophy 2025 final in March. All eyes were on the two stalwarts of Indian cricket, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, as they returned to competitive action for the first time since early June.
The surface for the series opener was a drop-in wicket, prepared off-site. Early morning rain meant the 22-yards remained under covers, with plenty of moisture and live grass for the bowlers to exploit early on. However, once batters adjusted to the pace and bounce of the pitch, conditions were expected to ease up, making run-scoring more comfortable.
Australia’s captain, Mitchell Marsh, won the toss and opted to bowl first. Mitchell Owen and Matt Renshaw were handed their ODI debuts for the hosts. India’s newly appointed ODI skipper, Shubman Gill, revealed he too would have preferred to bowl first. The visitors handed a debut to Nitish Reddy and went in with two spin-bowling all-rounders — Washington Sundar and Axar Patel.
Talking point: Top-order struggles prove costly for India
For India’s top three, negotiating the extra bounce early on proved to be a real challenge. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were returning to competitive cricket after six months, while Shubman Gill faced a sharp adjustment after spending the past couple of months on low-bouncing surfaces. The trio struggled to find their rhythm, managing just 18 runs off 40 balls combined.
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India’s lower order push them to 136/6 in rain-shortened innings
India made an unconvincing start with the bat, losing three wickets inside the first nine overs. Rohit Sharma showed glimpses of his class early on, timing a beautiful straight drive for four off Mitchell Starc. But Josh Hazlewood had other ideas. After pushing the right-hander onto the back foot with a short ball, he followed up with a fuller delivery that forced Sharma forward. Caught in two minds over the length, the Mumbai batter edged the next ball, which kicked up sharply off the surface, resulting in his dismissal.
Virat Kohli received a warm welcome in the middle. But it didn’t turn out to be an innings to remember. He looked a bit scratchy for his eight-ball duck. The Delhi-born chased for a big drive away from the body to get a thick outside edge into the hands of the backward point fielder. Gill soon followed suit, falling to an unfortunate dismissal down the leg side.
After the first two-hour rain delay, Shreyas Iyer signaled his intent immediately, cutting a short ball through point for a boundary off the very first delivery. But Josh Hazlewood once again exploited his vulnerability against the short ball. Iyer lost his balance while fending at a leg-side delivery and gloved it through to the wicketkeeper.
Multiple rain interruptions eventually reduced the match to 26 overs per side. Axar Patel and KL Rahul then shifted gears, with the Karnataka batter lighting up the innings by launching two consecutive sixes off Matthew Short to inject much-needed momentum.
But Matthew Kuhneman dried up the runs to increase pressure late in the innings. India eventually finished on 136/9 in their 26 overs, with Nitish Reddy providing a late spark through an unbeaten 19 off 11 balls. With the DLS adjustment, Australia were set a revised target of 131.
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Australia complete successful chase with seven wickets in hand
The visitors got off to an impressive start, claiming the crucial wicket of Travis Head. The southpaw sliced a length delivery straight into the hands of the deep third-man fielder, failing to keep the ball down and falling into the trap. Meanwhile, Mitchell Marsh continued to play his aggressive shots all around the ground.
After Matthew Short’s dismissal, Josh Philippe went on the offensive from the very first ball. His 50-run partnership with Marsh for the third wicket effectively put the game out of India’s reach. Philippe eventually returned to the pavilion for 37 off 29 balls.
Marsh remained unbeaten on 46, striking two boundaries and three sixes, while Matt Renshaw finished on 21* as Australia completed a successful chase with seven wickets in hand, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
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Statistical Highlights from Australia vs India, 1st ODI, 2025 in Perth
- An India captain last won the toss in an ODI match in the CWC 2023 semi-final. In 16 ODIs since that game, the toss result has been negative for India.
- Rohit Sharma appeared in his 500th international match for India.
- Virat Kohli was dismissed for his first duck in 19 ODI innings against Australia in Australia.
- Josh Hazlewood dismissed Rohit Sharma for the second time in ODIs. The batter has scored 89 runs in 103 balls against the pacer.
- Josh Hazlewood has now dismissed Shreyas Iyer thrice in ODIs at an average of 18.3.
- Mitchell Marsh becomes the eighth player to hit 100+ sixes for Australia in ODIs. Ricky Ponting leads the chart with 159 sixes.
What’s next
The focus now shifts to the second encounter of the series, where India will look to extract a stronger performance from their top order. The match is scheduled for October 23 at the Adelaide Oval, and the weather is expected to be favourable for play.
Top Twitter Reactions from AUS vs IND, 1st ODI, Perth 2025-26
If Harshit Rana is being seen as someone who can tonk the ball at No. 8, then we should expose him to that role in the next two years and not shield him by including an additional batter. Kuldeep should come in for Nitish or Washi, as in Jassi’s absence he’s the go-to wicket…
— Priyank Panchal (@PKpanchal09) October 19, 2025
Different cricket! The class of Starc and Hazlewood and the calibre of the fielding. This is going to be a good challenge to watch. #AUSvIND
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 19, 2025
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