Why India Batting Flopped Against Australia in the 1st ODI

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Why India Batting Flopped Against Australia in the 1st ODI: The three-match ODI series between India and Australia began today, October 19, 2025, at the Optus Stadium in Perth. This match was eagerly awaited, as the Indian team was playing in the ODI format for the first time since the Champions Trophy. However, the match started off disappointing for Indian fans, as the team's batting completely faltered.

Due to persistent rain, the match was eventually reduced to 26 overs per innings. Australia captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and elected to bowl first, which proved to be the right decision given the seam-friendly and overcast conditions in Perth.

Disappointing Indian innings (136/9 in 26 Overs)

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From the start of the Indian innings, the Australian fast bowlers, especially Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, kept the pressure on the Indian batsmen. The ball was showing pace, bounce, and swing, which the Indian top order couldn't handle.

Collapse of the Top Order

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Team India's top order completely failed today. Three big wickets fell in the first 10 overs:

Batsman	Runs (balls)	S/R	Manner of dismissal
Rohit Sharma	8 (14)	57.14	Caught out (off Josh Hazlewood)
Shubman Gill (captain)	10 (18)	55.56	Caught out (off Nathan Ellis)
Virat Kohli	0 (8)	0.00	Caught out (off Mitchell Starc)
Shreyas Iyer	11 (24)	45.83	Caught out (off Josh Hazlewood)

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Analysis: Main reasons for batting failure in the first ODI against Australia

• Perth's Bounce and Swing: The pitch was damp in the early overs, providing the Australian bowlers with tremendous swing and bounce. Even experienced batsmen like Rohit and Kohli couldn't judge the pace and bounce properly.
• Pressure from the Australian fast bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Ellis bowled tightly, taking wickets consistently to deny India a chance to build a big partnership.
• Pressure from the short overs: The top order's failure in a 26-over match put unnecessary pressure on the middle order to score quickly.

Struggling middle and lower order defense

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After the top-order collapse, KL Rahul and Axar Patel steadied the team and tried to get to a respectable score.

Batsmen	Runs (balls)	4s/6s	S/R
Axar Patel	31 (38)	3/0	81.58
KL Rahul (wicketkeeper)	38 (31)	2/2	122.58
Washington Sundar	10 (10)	1/0	100.00
Nitish Kumar Reddy	19* (11)	0/2	172.73

Key Performances: KL Rahul top-scored with 38 runs at a strike rate of 122+. Meanwhile, ODI debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy finally scored a quickfire 19 runs off just 11 balls, hitting two sixes, to take the score past 130.

Summary: India's final score

Despite the frequent loss of wickets and the reduced number of overs, India managed to post a respectable score.

Team	Score	Over
India	136/9	26.0
Extra runs	8 (wide-6, leg-bye-2)

Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) method Australia have been set a target of 131 runs to win. All eyes are now on the Indian bowlers to see if they can defend this small total.

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