IND vs AUS 1st ODI: KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja fire under-pressure India to 5 wicket in Mumbai

Ishan Kishan (3), Shubman Gill (20), Virat Kohli (4) Suryakumar Yadav (0) all departed cheaply after a brilliant spell from left-arm pacer MItchell Starc saw him strike thrice in the first 11 overs.

Stand-in captain Hardik Pandya joined Rahul in the middle for a fifth wicket partnership of 44 runs off 55 balls. But before India could breathe a sigh of relief, Stoinis struck once again after surprising Hardik with a sharp bouncer which cramped him for space and generated a top-edge which landed into the hands of Cameron Green at backward square leg.

With India five down for 83 now, Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja brought in all their experience to stick around in the middle. With almost 30 overs remaining the duo did not panic and kept the scoreboard ticking, dealing majorly in singles and pouncing on the loose deliveries for boundaries.

Once Rahul reached his fifty off 73 balls, he opened up and started playing his shots. The 30-year-old hit a boundary of Green to bring up India’s 150 in the 35th over before hammering Adam Zampa for a four and a six in the following over. The duo again did not hit any boundaries in the next three overs. But come the 40th over from Starc, Jadeja scored a boundary on the third and fifth delivery to seal the deal for India with 61 balls to spare. The partnership between the duo accounted for 108 unbeaten runs off 123 balls.

Australia manage 188 at Wankhede Stadium

Earlier, India bundled out Australia for 188 in the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday. The hosts stitched a 71-run partnership for the second wicket but Australian innings collapsed soon after Ravindra Jadeja dismissed opener Mitchell Marsh in the 20th over.

After being asked to bat first. Australia lost the wicket of Travis Head early. The right-hand batter was castled by Mohammed Siraj on the final ball of the second over. Captain Steve Smith walked in the middle and stitched a 72-run partnership with Marsh who kept playing his shot with a lot of ease and confidence.

Just when the partnership started to take a dangerous shape, stand-in captain Hardik Pandya generated an edge off Smith’s (22 off 30) bat and wicket-keeper Rahul completed a comfortable catch. The assault from Marsh continued and he stitched another 52-run partnership off 43 balls with Marnus Labuschagne (15 off 22).

Australia had raced to 129/2 in 19.3 overs but the situation soon turned south for Australia after Marsh’s (81 off 65) dismissal. The side soon crashed to 169 for 5 in 27.5 overs before getting bundled out for 188 in 35.4 overs.

Shami was the crusader-in-chief for India as he also removed Josh Inglis (26 off 27) and Marcus Stoinis (5 off 8) later to finish with match figures of 3/17. Jadeja later removed Glenn Maxwell (8 off 10) to finish with figures of 2/46. Siraj also picked three wickets for 29 runs in 5.4 overs. India also were stunning in the field with the likes of Jadeja and Shubman Gill taking some sensational diving catches.

The two teams next meet on Sunday in Visakhapatnam.