India's head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen having a fiery chat with captain Shubman Gill after Men in Blue's seven-wicket defeat against Australia in the first ODI in Perth. On Shubman Gill's ODI captaincy debut, India suffered their first loss in 2025 in the 50-over format. Australia successfully chased a revised target of 131 in 26 overs via DLS method with captain Mitchell Marsh scoring an unbeaten 46. Crucial support came from wicketkeeper-batter Josh Philippe (37) and Matthew Renshaw (21 not out), who helped guide the hosts to a seven-wicket victory in 21.1 overs.
Earlier, India suffered a batting collapse and could only post 136/9. Even Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who were playing their first international match after Champions Trophy, couldn't make an impact with the bat. While Rohit scored a paltry 8, Virat recorded an 8-ball duck.
Cameras catch fiery Gambhir-Gill chat after India's crushing loss to Australia
Meanwhile, immediately following the match, India's support staff gathered for a discussion. Coach Gautam Gambhir was visibly engaged in an intense chat with captain Gill, bowling coach Morne Morkel, and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, suggesting a serious post-mortem of the team's performance was underway.
When you lose three wickets in the powerplay, you're always trying to play a catch-up game: Gill
However, Gill, in the post-match presentation, acknowledged that the early loss of three wickets inside the powerplay immediately put the Indian team on the back foot. However, he was quick to praise his side's efforts, noting their fighting spirit in dragging the match deep while defending a modest total in the rain-affected encounter. This game marked Gill's first assignment leading the team in the 50-over format.
“When you lose three wickets in the powerplay, you're always trying to play a catch-up game. A lot of learnings for us from this game, and a lot of positives for us as well. We were defending 130 and we took the game, not till the very end, but pretty deep. We were very satisfied with that,” Gill said.