Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bat first on a hot day in Adelaide. The pitch was a flat one and even Indian captain Virat Kohli conceded that he would have batted first.
India got off to a great start as their new ball bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami were on the money and accounted for the openers. This brought together Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh and together the duo started with the rescue act.
They were helped by some ordinary bowling by Mohammed Siraj, who on his debut was wayward and paid the penalty. Both the left-handers were humming along at a fair clip when Khawaja tapped one ball to point and decided to pinch a single. Ravindra Jadeja pounced on the ball, picked it up with one hand and fired a rocket throw to catch Khawaja short at the bowler's end. It was a sensational piece of fielding, and this gave India a timely strike just when Australia were looking to pull ahead in the game.
Out! Brilliant from Ravindra Jadeja. Usman Khawaja run out by a direct hit for 21
— Kaleem Tariq (@kaleemt17) January 15, 2019
3-82.#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/2rT8x6SYfN
During the toss, captain Kohli said that they want to be more consistent on the field and his fielder certainly walked the talk.
"We would have batted first as well, looks a great wicket to play on. The conditions are going to be a big factor for us as it's hot and humid. We were a bit scratchy at Sydney, just to get the one side together. We can't take Australia lightly in Australia. We like to be in these situations where we get to bounce back as a team," Kohli said at the toss.
India faces a must-win situation in the second ODI at Adelaide if they want to keep themselves alive in the series. The pitch at Adelaide is a cracking one and this should assist in stroke play which should give confidence to the Indian batting order.
