India had a tough start to their tour of Australia on Friday (November 27) as the hosts dominated the first ODI to win by 66 runs at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Australia batted first and set a massive a target of 375 for India courtesy centuries by captain Aaron Finch (114) and Steve Smith (105). David Warner scored 69, while Glenn Maxwell added the finishing touch by smashing quickfire 45 runs. Only pacer Mohammad Shami tasted some success for India, picking up 3/59 in his ten overs.
In reply, apart from Shikhar Dhawan (74) and Hardik Pandya (90), none of the Indian batsmen lasted long enough to trouble the Australian bowlers as the target proved to be too much for the visitors who finished with 308/8. Adam Zampa was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/54, while Josh Hazlewood also impressed with 3/55.
The game was played in presence of fans at a reduced 50 per cent crowd capacity, making it the first instance of their presence at the ground in international cricket since COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc in early March and ensured that all the cricket thereafter had to be played behind closed doors around the world.
WATCH: David Warner dances on song "Butta Bomma" with wife; Telugu star Allu Arjun reacts
Indian fans who had grabbed the opportunity to watch the Virat Kohli-led team in action were disappointed by a listless performance, but Warner who enjoys a lot of popularity in India due to his IPL performances over number of seasons, entertained the fans on the boundary by his favourite steps from Telugu song 'Butta Bomma'.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad captain shot several Tik-Tok videos performing to Indian hits during the lockdown which was imposed in Australia to contain COVID-19.
Watch it here:
The teams will play in the second ODI at the same venue on Sunday. India will have to put up a much better all-round performance to stay alive in the three-match series.
