Vaibhav Tripathi
India clinched a resounding five-wicket victory over Australia in the first ODI of the ongoing three-match series at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Friday, September 22. Shami delivered a stellar performance with the ball, securing an impressive five-wicket haul that dismantled the Australian batting order.
Notably, Shami achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first Indian bowler to claim a five-wicket haul in ODIs at home in 16 years. “It was important to hit the right lengths on this wicket, either at full pace or go slow, but bowling the right lengths were key,” said Shami after winning the player of the match award.
KL Rahul, appointed as captain for the first two ODIs in the ongoing three-match series against Australia, took on the role of wicketkeeper and managed the team’s bowling resources effectively, limiting Australia to a total of 276. In addition to his captaincy and wicketkeeping duties, Rahul played a pivotal role in India’s run chase with the bat, contributing an unbeaten 58 from 63 balls.
“I think the intensity in the afternoon was great, after Colombo this felt like heaven in the start but it was really hot and humid. It gets tough and physically challenging, but we’ve all worked on our fitness and that’s showing on the field. We only played five bowlers, so they had to bowl 10 overs. After Shubman got out, it was a bit tricky with the set batter out. But managed to build a good partnership with Surya, need to put myself in such challenging situations,” said the Indian captaim.
Australian captain Pat Cummins, making his return from injury, completed his 10-over quota, conceding only 44 runs while taking one wicket. Senior batters Steve Smith and David Warner exhibited promising form, notching up scores of 41 and 52, respectively. However, they were unable to capitalize on their starts, leading to Australia’s eventual downfall.
“Personally, happy to be back. Good to get my first game in India. A few guys batted well, few guys bowled well, but overall, not good enough. Smith’s first hit as well, and Davey was brilliant. Good to see them out there together.”