Indian batting stalwarts, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, failed to live up to the expectations on their highly-anticipated return to international cricket for the first time since March 2025.
Featuring in the first ODI against Australia in Perth, Rohit was dismissed for only 8 runs while Kohli bagged his first duck in the 50-over format Down Under.
Rohit’s 14-ball stay in the middle was ended by Josh Hazlewood in the fourth over. The veteran opener edged a delivery to second slip, where Matt Renshaw took an easy catch.
Sharma’s dismissal led to Kohli’s arrival at the crease, and the latter failed to trouble the scorers despite facing eight deliveries.
Australia’s left-arm quick Mitchell Starc got the better of Kohli, who perished once again while chasing a big drive away from his body. The thick outside edge of his bat flew to backward point, where Cooper Connolly grabbed an excellent acrobatic catch.
Reflecting on India's top-order failures, former all-rounder Pathan suggested that a lack of game time and insufficient preparation may have played a part. He also stated that more time should have been spent acclimatising to the Australian conditions before the start of the series.
"Fitness is one thing and game time is another. That is why Rohit looked a bit troubled. It looked like the demons of the BGT were back for Virat. I hope this is not the case in Adelaide and Sydney. KL Rahul batted well today. Shreyas Iyer got into an awkward position. Maybe he can work a bit more on his technique. Axar does well whenever he gets an opportunity to bat ahead," Pathan said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
"Whenever you tour such countries, it is always better to go early and play some games. It was going to be difficult for India. It was going to be a challenge as the conditions would not be easy. Our bowlers could not get the right lengths. The batters also had trouble with the bounce. If you had played a game or two, these mistakes would not have happened. It is important to think about these things going forward," he added.
Coming to the Perth ODI, India suffered a heavy seven-wicket defeat in the rain-marred fixture to concede a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
After Rohit and Kohli’s early dismissals, India’s new ODI captain Shubman Gill was removed by Nathan Ellis for just 10 as the Australian pacer trio reduced the visitors to 25/3 inside the powerplay.
Not only were the Indians playing catch-up after losing their top-three cheaply, frequent rain interruptions also affected their chances of building some momentum. KL Rahul (38) and Axar Patel’s (31) handy contributions and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy’s unbeaten 19 off 11 on ODI debut gave the Indian innings some impetus.
However, a score of 136/9 after 26 overs in a rain-hit fixture was never going to challenge the world champions, especially after their target was revised to 131 using the DLS method.
India and Australia will now square off in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Adelaide Oval on October 23. It will be a must win game for the tourists to stay alive in the series.
