IND Vs AUS 2025: Mohammad Siraj’s Spectacular Save Wins Hearts Despite India’s Defeat In 1st ODI - Video

India’s return to ODI action in Perth didn’t quite go as planned. The visitors had a forgettable outing with the bat in the rain-hit first ODI against Australia on Sunday. They managed to score only 136 runs after the game was reduced to 26 overs per side. But even on a tough day, there was one moment that lit up the Perth crowd, Mohammad Siraj’s stunning fielding effort near the boundary.

In a match where not much went India’s way, Siraj’s athleticism stood out. During the 18th over, Matthew Renshaw went after Washington Sundar and looked certain to clear the ropes at long-off. But Siraj had other ideas.

The pacer waited as the ball was soaring over his head, he arched back, caught the ball with his right-hand and then lobbed it back as he was dropping over the ropes. Realising he was falling over the boundary line, Siraj showed brilliant presence of mind to throw the ball back in before landing outside the rope, saving five precious runs and leaving teammates and fans in disbelief.

Watch the video here:

India vs Australia 1st ODI Match Report – Perth

The match itself, though, was largely dominated by the hosts. Australia’s bowlers made the most of the damp conditions, keeping India’s batters under constant pressure. The much-awaited comeback of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli was short-lived as they were departed on 8 and 0 respectively. India captain Shubman Gill also fell early on just 10 runs.

Apart from a brief partnership in the middle overs and some big hits from KL Rahul and Nitish Kumar Reddy, India couldn’t recover from early setbacks and were bowled out for just 136. The repeated rain breaks didn’t help either, breaking the rhythm and making stroke play difficult.

Chasing a revised target of 131 under the DLS method, Australia made light work of the total. Although, Travis Head departed cheaply off Arshdeep Singh, it was Aussie captain Mitchell Marsh who kept putting pressure on the Indian bowlers. He played a match-winning knock of 46 runs and was well supported Josh Philippe, who scored 37 runs as the Aussies eneded up winning the match convincingly by 7 wickets.

Shubman Gill Reflects on Lessons and Positives

After the loss, India skipper Shubman Gill admitted the early collapse cost them the game but preferred to focus on the positives. “When you lose three wickets in the powerplay, you're always trying to play a catch-up game,” he said during the post-match presentation, pointing out how rain delays and a poor start made it difficult to recover. “A lot of learnings for us from this game and a lot of positives as well. We were defending 130 and we took the game pretty deep. We were satisfied with that.”

He also acknowledged the strong support from the fans in Perth, despite the conditions. “We are very fortunate with the crowd support. The fans turned up in huge numbers and hopefully they'll be able to cheer us on at Adelaide as well,” he added with a smile.

India will now aim for a comeback when they meet again the Kangaroos on October 23 at the Adelaide Oval for the second match of the three-match ODI series.