A four-wicket haul from Jhye Richardson helped Australia to a 34-run victory in the first of three one-day internationals against India, despite a fighting century from Rohit Sharma.
The win at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday, 12 January, was Australia’s 1000th in international cricket. They now have a 1-0 lead in the series.
Sharma, with 133, became the first Indian to score five centuries in Australia. However, despite his effort, India were kept to 254/9 in pursuit of a 289-run target. The new-ball pair of Richardson and debutant Jason Behrendorff had done much of the damage, reducing the visitors to 4/3.
Earlier, after Australia chose to bat, Bhuvneshwar Kumar drew first blood, dislodging Aaron Finch’s stumps in the third over. A series of partnerships, though, provided Finch’s side a base from which they could take off in the last 10 overs.
All of Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb got half-centuries, before Marcus Stoinis overcame a slow start to provide the final flourish with 47* off 43 balls, lifting them to 288/5.
Opener Alex Carey and Khawaja added 33 runs for the second wicket, after which Marsh combined for a 92-run stand for the third wicket with Khawaja. The No.3 notched up an 81-ball 59 before Ravindra Jadeja trapped him lbw in the 29th over.
Marsh put a tough Test series behind him to make a vital 54 off 70, before falling to Kuldeep Yadav, while Handscomb had two sixes in his 61-ball 73. The duo added 63 runs together.
Stoinis accelerated beautifully, as 93 runs were added in the last 10 overs, and 59 from the last five.
Chasing a total that looked slightly below par, India lost Shikhar Dhawan (0), Virat Kohli (3) and Ambati Rayudu (0) within the first four overs. Dhawan was Behrendorff’s first ODI victim, falling for a golden duck. Richardson was the most effective bowler in the Powerplay, dismissing Kohli and Rayudu in the same over.
Dhoni and Sharma got stuck in, batting in their own shell and taking no risks. With his first run of the day, Dhoni breached the 10,000-run mark for India in ODI cricket. The fourth-wicket pair saw out the Powerplay before accelerating, stitching a 137-run partnership and bringing their side back into the game with their patient display.
For a while, it seemed like they would take India past the finish line. However, Behrendorff got the breakthrough, trapping Dhoni in front for a 96-ball 51. India, who had lost their review earlier, were unlucky as replays showed that the ball had pitched outside the leg stump.
Sharma continued to find the boundary, reaching his 22nd century. But he was fast running out of partners, especially when Dinesh Karthik chopped on to Richardson, who had smartly pulled his length back. Sharma threw caution to the wind and went after the bowlers, but was ultimately dismissed by Stoinis after a couple of close calls.
