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The much-anticipated return of Ro-Ko was short-lived in the first ODI of the series at Perth Stadium. Australia’s senior pace-bowling duo Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc dismissed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli respectively, very cheaply in the first half an hour of play after Mitchell Marsh won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Rohit troubled by extra bounce
Playing their first international match since the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final, the senior duo looked comfortable as Perth pitch had enough bounce in it. Rohit managed to hit one boundary during his stay at the crease, a straight drive off Starc in the third over.
In the fourth over, the extra bounce got the better of the opener. Hazlewood bowled the hard length and Rohit outside-edged it to second slip. He scored just eight runs from 14 balls.
Kohli departs without troubling scorers
Kohli got off the strike first ball via leg byes. It was followed by a maiden over by Starc. Kohli was eager to get off the strike. He went for a booming drive away from the body but the length was not ideal. The thick outside edge off the bat went to backward point. Cooper Connolly dived to his right and took a stunner to dismiss Kohli for an eight-ball duck.
A first for Kohli in Australia
This is the first time in 30 ODI innings Kohli has been dismissed for a duck in Australia. Starc became the second bowler after England's James Anderson to get rid of Kohli for a duck on two occasions.
Top-order’s flop show
After the senior duo, the Indian skipper Shubman Gill was dismissed cheaply. On his first ball of the match, Nathan Ellis got rid of Gill. The batter looked to play it towards fine leg but was caught by Josh Philippe. He scored just 10 runs from 18 balls. India lost 25/3 in the ninth over. Rain interrupted play at Perth Stadium after 8.5 overs while Axar Patel was yet to get off the mark.
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