The Indian team faced off against Australia in the first ODI of the series at Perth's Optus Stadium. This marked the return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to international cricket. Previously, ROKO played their last match for India against New Zealand in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, clinching the title after defeating New Zealand.
In the comeback match, both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma failed to shine. Rohit Sharma scored 8 runs off 14 balls, while Kohli didn't open his account, facing 8 balls. Rohit fell to right-arm pacer Josh Hazlewood, caught at second slip by Matthew Renshaw on a short delivery. Rohit tried a powerful stroke, but his timing was off, leading to an edge that reached the fielder.
How did King Kohli get out?
Virat Kohli was dismissed by left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc. Attempting a drive on an outside off-stump delivery, Kohli didn't time it well, resulting in an edge towards backward point. There, Cooper Connolly dived to his left to catch it.
This dismissal marked a new low for Kohli, as he recorded his first duck in ODIs in Australia after 30 innings. Starc became the second bowler to dismiss Kohli for a duck twice in ODIs, after England's James Anderson.
Captain Shubman Gill also struggled, contributing a mere 8 runs before edging a Nathan Ellis delivery to wicketkeeper Josh Philippe. Combined, Rohit (8), Gill (10), and Kohli (0) amassed just 18 runs. This was their lowest collective ODI score, surpassing the previous low of 25 runs against Pakistan in 2023 at Pallekele, where Rohit made 11, Gill 10, and Kohli 4.
India's Lowest Powerplay Scores Since 2023 (ODI Internationals)
27/3 vs Australia, Chennai 2023 27/3 vs Australia, Perth 2025 * 35/2 vs England, Lucknow 2023 37/3 vs New Zealand, Dubai, 2025 39/3 vs Australia, Wankhede, 2023
