India had the better of Australia with the ball, in the first ODI of the three-match series, which is being played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 17, 2023. India's captain in this match Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Australia is being captained in this series by Steve Smith in absence of Pat Cummins and then were dealt a big blow as keeper Alex Carey flew back home after falling sick ahead of the ODIs.
Meanwhile, Australia started off well with the bat despite losing Travis Head in the second over. Mitchell Marsh and Steve Smith (22) added 72 runs for the second wicket. But then Hardik Pandya got Smith out and Marsh fell to Ravindra Jadeja for a blistering 81 runs in just 65 balls with 10 fours and 5 sixes.
After these two wickets, Indian bowlers put immense pressure on Australia as only Josh Inglis (26) went past the 20-run mark from the rest of the Aussie batting lineup that went deep.
Both pacer Mohammed Siraj and Mohammad Shami picked three wickets, but Shami took the scalps of dangerous Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, and Marcus Stoinis, who had received life by Shubman Gill. Jadeja also picked two wickets, apart from taking an excellent catch to get rid of Marnus Labuschagne.
Meanwhile, after the Australian innings folded for 188 in 35.4 overs, Mohammad Shami had a word with the commentators.
He said: "(On making bowling look easy) There is a lot of hard work involved, you have to work on your fitness. You have to work hard in the nets. When you have the rhythm and the bounce and seam position is good, you get the results. There’s always good bounce on the Mumbai wickets.
I bowled in the good areas and got the rewards. I planned with Hardik to keep one slip in place. The ball was moving a bit and the idea was to keep bowling in the tight off-stump channel. If everyone contributes a bit, then it will be really good for the confidence of the players. We have done well to bundle out Australia for 188 and we should be able to chase it down. I get to know from the seam as to how well I am holding the ball.”
India opened their innings with Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill.
(Star Sports inputs)
