India were outclassed and then outgunned, by Australia and then gulled some more by spinner Adam Zampa as they crashed to a 66-run defeat in the first ODI since March in Sydney on Friday. (SCORECARD | FULL SCHEDULE | CRICKET NEWS)
Chasing a improbable 375, Hardik Pandya hit a career-best 90 but in the end it wasn't good enough to compensate for a forgettable bowling effort of India.
Indian bowlers helped by poor fielding and equally poor catching allowed Australia to score 374 runs in 50 overs. Captain Aaron Finch (114 off 124 balls) and Steve Smith (105 off 66 balls) hit contrasting hundreds. Glenn Maxwell came up with a cameo of 19-ball 45.
A pitch looked docile during the first half came to life in the second as Josh Hazlewood (3/55) bounced out the Indian top-order, including Kohli and a frightened Shreyas Iyer, who got himself into a tangle.
In the end, India surrendered finishing at 308/8 after 50 overs.
“I found it reasonably hard to get my timing in the middle overs. Took a couple of chances and luckily they came off. We've barely been together as a team. Davey (David Warner) is moving beautifully, something he's been working on. Smudge (Steve Smith) was different class altogether. And Maxi (Glenn Maxwell), that rare ability he's got to almost just click his fingers and put pressure back on the opposition,” Aaron Finch said after the win.
India skipper Virat Kohli refused to blame quarantine for the loss.
“We've been playing T20 cricket. But having said that, we've all played a lot of ODI cricket. The body language after 25-26 overs was disappointing. We got enough time to prepare, I don't think there's any excuses on the field when you don't pull up as a side,’ Kohli said.
Brief Scores:
Australia: 374 for 6 in 50 overs (Aaron Finch 114, Steve Smith 105, David Warner 69, Mohammed Shami 3/59).
India: 308 for 8 in 50 overs (Hardik Pandya 90, Shikhar Dhawan 74; Josh Hazlewood 3/55, Adam Zampa 4/54).