Cricket Kitchen

India Defeated by Australia

October 20, 2025

 

Kathmandu – Australia defeated India by 7 wickets using the Duckworth–Lewis method in the rain-affected first ODI in Perth.

Virat Kohli, making his return to international cricket, was dismissed for a golden duck (out on the first ball without scoring). Due to rain, the match was reduced to 26 overs per side. The game was interrupted six times by rain, and India managed to score only 136 runs for the loss of 9 wickets.

India’s middle-order batters kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, both playing their first international match since March, were dismissed within the powerplay. Kohli faced 8 balls but could not score, while Rohit made 8 runs.

Captain Shubman Gill (10) and Shreyas Iyer (11) were also dismissed early, reducing India to 45/4 by the 14th over. KL Rahul then tried to stabilize the innings with a score of 38, supported by Axar Patel (31) and Washington Sundar.

However, after Sundar’s dismissal in the 24th over, India lost 4 more wickets within a span of 21 runs.

Josh Hazlewood bowled excellently, taking 2 wickets for 20 runs in his 7 overs. Mitchell Owen and Matthew Kuhnemann also took one wicket each.

Australia too lost two wickets in the powerplay—Travis Head and Matthew Short. However, they comfortably chased the revised target of 131 runs.

Mitchell Marsh anchored the innings with an unbeaten 46 off 52 balls. He shared a 55-run partnership for the third wicket with Josh Philippe, who scored 37 runs off 29 balls.