Following the top order’s collapse in the opening ODI against Australia at the Optus Stadium on Sunday, India posted 136/9 in a rain-marred 26-over innings thanks to KL Rahul’s 38 off 31 balls, Axar Patel’s 31, and debutant Nitish Reddy’s late flourish.
Australia needs 131 runs to win in 26 overs when using the DLS technique.
After several rain delays caused the play to be postponed, the 50-over-a-side competition was shortened to 26 overs per innings. First, the home team won the toss and played a fantastic game with the ball.
When Josh Hazlewood hit India’s ODI returnee Rohit Sharma for a 14-ball eight, he gave his team an early lead. With Nathan Ellis selecting the recently chosen captain, Shubman Gill, and Mitchell Starc dismissing India’s second returnee, Virat Kohli, the festivities in the Australian camp doubled.
Following the fall of their top order, the Indian batsmen found it tough to gain momentum and failed to get the scorecard moving due to frequent weather delays.
Just as Shreyas Iyer was beginning to settle into a rhythm, Hazlewood took another wicket by dismissing him. This was the seventh time in 13 innings that Hazlewood has removed Iyer, including in domestic games.
KL Rahul and Axar Patel’s stroke play gave the Indian dugout some much-needed relief during a fourth rain delay. Axar scored 31 runs off of 38 deliveries until his untimely removal, helping the struggling Indian team approach the three-figure mark on the scoreboard.
As the innings dragged to a conclusion, wicketkeeper-batter Rahul showed no compassion, hitting Matthew Short for two sixes in the 21st over as India passed the 100-run mark.
Washington Sundar provided Rahul with some middle-field assistance in the challenging conditions that favored the bowlers more, but Matthew Kuhnemann’s strike in the 24th over quickly sent Sundar back to the pavilion.
Rahul and debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy attempted to finish the innings strongly together, but Mitch Owen cut short the latter’s performance. The Australian debutant Harshit Rana picked up two runs in his over and was also removed on the second ball he faced.
Reddy made the most of the remaining balls in an effort to raise the team’s final total and struck two sixes as India ended their innings at 136/9 after Arshdeep Singh was run out in the last over.
In summary, India defeated Australia by scoring 136/9 in 26 overs (DLS technique) with KL Rahul at 38, Axar Patel at 31, Josh Hazlewood at 2-20, and Matthew Kuhnemann at 2–26.
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