Vinay Kumar
India captain Shubman Gill reflected on his team’s performance after losing the first ODI against Australia in a rain-shortened match by seven wickets.The match saw India lose three crucial wickets during the powerplay overs, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, which significantly impacted their performance.“Never easy, when you lose three wickets in the powerplay, you’re always trying to play catch up. There were a lot of learnings and positives as well,” said Gill after the match.
The return of veteran players Kohli and Sharma was brief, lasting only 22 balls combined, as India struggled at 25/3 in the ninth over.Despite the early setbacks, India managed to challenge Australia in defending their total.“Defending 130 in 26 odd overs, we took the game pretty deep so we’re satisfied with that,” added Gill.Gill expressed appreciation for the fans’ support during their white-ball tour.“We’re very fortunate that wherever we play, fans turn up in huge numbers. Hopefully, they’ll be able to cheer us on at Adelaide as well,” said Gill.The loss marked India’s first ODI defeat in 2025, ending their streak of eight consecutive victories.Australian captain Mitchell Marsh, who scored an unbeaten 46, led his team to victory with 29 balls remaining while chasing the DLS target of 131.“The weather played its part today. Big thanks to all the crowd that stuck around. I know these days can be really frustrating, but nice to get a win. It’s always nice to win at home. I love playing for Australia.”Marsh acknowledged the challenging conditions during the chase.“It (ball) was swinging around a little bit. We knew that was going to be the case for both teams, so a little bit of a challenge to get through there. Proud of the way our young guys came out and took the game on and got us over.”Josh Philippe, playing his third ODI, contributed 37 runs from 29 balls and shared a 55-run partnership with Marsh.“(He) came out and made it look very easy, didn’t he? It’s fun to get young kids coming in. They’re not necessarily young kids, the young guys coming in. You just want them to have fun and enjoy it. In one-day cricket, we don’t get to play in front of the big crowds all the time, so I said them to really enjoy it,” added Marsh.
