Hosts beat tourists by 6 wickets in 1st ODI

HYDERABAD, India, March 2, (RTRS): Kedar Jadhav and Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck unbeaten fifties to help India pull off a tricky chase and beat Australia by six wickets in the first one-day international on Saturday.

Needing 237 for victory, India slumped to 99-4 but Jadhav’s grit and Dhoni’s experience during their 141-run partnership helped India reach the target with 10 balls to spare.

Jadhav made 81 not out, his fifth ODI fifty, off 87 balls while Dhoni was unbeaten on 59.

Earlier, Australia’s batsmen could not really rotate the strike and were restricted to 236-7 by India’s disciplined bowling attack.

Australia captain Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bat, a decision that also pleased counterpart Virat Kohli who said he would have preferred to bowl first.

Mohammed Shami began with a maiden before Jasprit Bumrah struck with his third delivery to prolong Finch’s slump in form.

Bumrah’s good length ball kissed the shoulder of Finch’s tentative bat and nestled into Dhoni’s gloves as the opener perished for a duck.

Finch has not scored a fifty in his last eight ODI innings, which would be a major worry for Australia ahead of their title defence at this year’s World Cup in England and Wales.

Usman Khawaja and Marcus Stoinis shared an 87-run stand to help Australia overcome the loss of their captain.

 Part-time spinner Jadhav dismissed Stoinis for 37 but Khawaja made a fluent 50 before Kuldeep Yadav sent him back.

India vs Australia Scoreboard

HYDERABAD, India, March 2, (RTRS): Scoreboard at close of play of 1st ODI between India and Australia.

AUSTRALIA

U. Khawaja c Shankar b Yadav                   50

A. Finch c Dhoni b Bumrah                       ..0

M. Stoinis c Kohli b Jadhav                       37

P. Handscomb st Dhoni b Yadav             19

G. Maxwell b Shami             40

A. Turner b Shami                21

A. Carey not out                   36

N. Coulter-Nile c Kohli b Bumrah             28

Extras: (5w)   ..5

Total: (7 wkts, 50 overs)....................................................236

Fall of Wickets: 1-0 (Finch), 2-87 (Stoinis), 3-97 (Khawaja), 4-133 (Handscomb), 5-169 (Turner), 6-173 (Maxwell), 7-235 (Coulter-Nile)

Did not bat: Cummins, Behrendorff, Zampa

Bowling: Shami 10-2-44-2, Bumrah 10-0-60-2, Shankar 3-0-22-0, Yadav 10-0-46-2, Jadeja 10-0-33-0, Jadhav 7-0-31-1

INDIA

R. Sharma c Finch b Coulter-Nile              37

S. Dhawan c Maxwell b Coulter-Nile        0

V. Kohli lbw Zampa              44

A. Rayudu c Carey b Zampa                       13

MS Dhoni not out               59

K. Jadhav not out                81

Extras: (1lb, 5w)                   6

Total: (4 wkts, 48.2 overs)                         240

Fall of Wickets: 1-4 (Dhawan), 2-80 (Kohli), 3-95 (Sharma), 4-99 (Rayudu)

Did not bat: Shankar, Jadeja, Yadav, Shami, Bumrah

Bowling: Behrendorff 10-0-46-0, Coulter-Nile 9-2-46-2, Cummins 10-0-46-0, Zampa 10-0-49-2, Stoinis 9.2-0-52-0

Match result: India win by 6 wickets

Umpires: Joel Wilson, Nitin Menon

TV Umpire: Handunnettige Dharmasena

Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle