In spite of stellar performances from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli with the bat, India suffered a five-wicket drubbing at the hands of Australia in the first ODI in Perth. India set the home team a target of 310, which was chased down with ease.
Skipper Steve Smith and George Bailey put together a partnership of 242 runs to power the Aussies to win in the first game of the five-match ODI series.
India captain MS Dhoni will have a lot to ponder over before the two teams meet again on Friday. Before that, though, here is a look at how the India players fared in the first ODI.
Shikhar Dhawan: After an impressive show in the warm up game, fans expected him to make an impact at the top of the order alongside Rohit. Dhawan struggled to rotate the strike, and scored only 9 runs, at a strike rate of 40.90. The left-handed opening batsmen got out to a short ball from Josh Hazlewood, after he tried to hook one over the fine-leg boundary for a six. Dhawan could not time the ball properly and it landed in the safe hands of Mitchell Marsh. Rating: 3/10.
Rohit Sharma: "Hitman" was in terrific form against Australia, slamming his ninth ODI century on Tuesday. It was also his fourth against Australia and third Down Under. Rohit remained unbeaten on 171 and his innings was decorated with 13 boundaries and seven sixes. The Mumbai Indians skipper would have been gutted to end up on the losing side. Rating: 10/10.
Virat Kohli: The Delhi-lad missed out on his 24th ton on Tuesday, as he was dismissed for 91. Kohli was picture-perfect right from the start of his innings. Those drives and flicks were flowing with ease from his willow. Kohli added a brilliant partnership of 207 runs with Rohit for the second wicket. Trying to cut lose towards the latter half of the first innings, the Test skipper was caught by Aaron Finch on the long-on boundary. Rating: 9/10.
MS Dhoni: The skipper might have chipped in with some valuable runs with the bat in the first innings, but he was average while captaining in the second innings. First and foremost, Dhoni should not have opted for two spinners when there's hardly anything on that Perth wicket for them. As a result Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were taken for plenty. Rating: 5/10.
Ravichandran Ashwin: The ace spinner's figures in the first ODI read: 9-0-68-2. That just wasn't good enough from Ashwin, who is currently the No.1 Test bowler in the world. From the moment he was introduced into the attack, Smith and Bailey went into attack-mode, playing him with ease. While he claimed the wickets of Bailey and Maxwell towards the end of the run chase, it was too late by then. Rating: 4/10.
Ravindra Jadeja: Smith and Bailey were relentless during their massive partnership of 242 runs. They particularly launched an attack on the Indian spinners – Jadeja and Ashwin. Just like Ashwin, Jadeja too had a bad day with the ball. He gave away 61 runs in his spell of nine overs. However, he chipped in with some useful runs with the bat in the first innings. Rating: 5/10.
Umesh Yadav: Yadav bowled at a good pace and initially proved to be economical as well. In his first three overs, Yadav went for just nine runs. Later, as usual, in the process of trying to bowl too fast, he lost his line and length and things became easier for Smith and Bailey. One might just consider Yadav to be unlucky not have claimed any scalps in the 1st ODI. Rating: 6/10.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Line and length is usually his key as he does not try to bowl too fast. He was one of the better bowlers during the Australian run chase in the 1st ODI. Bhuvneshwar had the best economy rate (4.66) amongst the Indian bowlers. However, Bhuvneshwar was unable to pick up any wickets and with it put more pressure on the Aussie batsmen. Rating: 6/10.
Barinder Sran: An impressive debut for the youngster from Punjab as he bagged three scalps against Australia in the first ODI in Perth. He removed David Warner and Aaron Finch early in the run chase and that put a lot of pressure on the Aussies, before Smith and Bailey guided the hosts over the line. Sran could have also got the wicket of Bailey, and that too for a duck. The decision, though, was not given. Sran later picked up the wicket of Smith towards the end of the run chase. The left-arm seamer's impressive show is likely to earn him a place in the team for the 2nd ODI as well. Rating: 8/10.
Ajinkya Rahane and Manish Pandey did not bat or do anything particularly extraordinary on the field. So an NA in ratings for them.
