India vs Australia, 1st ODI: India Canter To Six-Wicket Win In Hyderabad

RESULT - India won by 6 wickets

India had restricted Australia to a modest 236 for seven after the visitors opted to bat. The hosts then returned to overhaul the target with 10 balls to spare, scoring 240/4 in 48.2 overs.

Kedar Jadhav (81) and MS Dhoni (59) hit superb unbeaten half-centuries to take the team home.

The second match will be played at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur on March 5.

Brief Scores:

Australia: 236 for 7 in 50 overs (Usman Khawaja 50, Glenn Maxwell 40; Mohammed Shami 2/44).
India: 240-4 in 48.2 overs (MS Dhoni 59, Kedar Jadhav 81; Nathan Coulter-Nile 2/35).

India Innings, Target 237

MS Dhoni hit the winning runs, a four, with 10 balls to spare as India won the first ODI match by six wickets.

A century stand (101 off 123) for MS Dhoni (45 off 63) and Kedar Jadhav (56 off 70). India were after 44 overs, still need another 37 from 36. Jadhav also reached his fifth ODI fifty, off the 67th ball.

MS Dhoni (39 off 52) and Kedar Jadhav (38 off 57) have steadied the Indian ship. India need 61 runs in 60 balls.

After 30 overs, India were 125/4, still needing another 112 runs.  Ambati Rayudu (13 off 19) was the last Indian batsman to get out, Zampa had him caught behind. MS Dhoni and  Kedar Jadhav have added 26 runs in 39 balls for the fifth wicket. For the Aussies, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Adam Zampa have taken two wickets each.

India lost another wicket, in the form of Rohit Sharma (37 off 66). Leading edge, caught at mid-off by Aaron Finch. Wicket maiden. FoW-95/3 (20.5 over). MS Dhoni joined Ambati Rayudu in the centre. India were 95/3 after 21 overs.

Virat Kohli departed after making 44 off 45 balls, trapped in front by Adam Zampa. FoW - 80/2 (16.6 over). But before that, the skipper had added 76 runs with his deputy Rohit Sharma as India recovered from the early blow of Shikhar Dhawan wicket. Ambati Rayudu was the new man, and India were 82/2 after 18 overs. Still need 155 runs.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli steadied the ship with a patient stand of 38 from 53 balls. India were 42/1 after 10 overs, still needing 195 more to win the match.

Nathan Coulter-Nile has sent Shikhar Dhawan (0 off 1) back, caught at point by Glenn Maxwell. FoW - 1-4 (1.1 over)Virat Kohli joined Rohit Sharma in the centre. India were 4/1 after two overs.

Australia Innings

Australia managed to post a fighting total of 236/7 after Indian bowlers dominated the proceedings. Opener Usman Khawaja top scored with 50, while Glenn Maxwell contributed with 40 runs. Alex Carey and Nathan Coulter-Nile also chipped in with valuable 36 and 28 runs respectively.

For India, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets each, while Kedar Jadhav took one.

Another beauty from Mohammed Shami, this time to bowl in-form Glenn Maxwell (40 off 51). FoW - 173/6 (39.5 over). Nathan Coulter-Nile joined Alex Carey in the centre.

Mohammed Shami got his first wicket. Bowled debutant Ashton Turner (21 off 23). FoW - 169/5 (37.5 over). Alex Carey is the new man for the Aussies.

Another wicket for Kuldeep Yadav. A beauty to beat Peter Handscomb (19 off 30) between bat and pad and MS Dhoni, behind, doing what does best. But Glenn Maxwell has been brilliant so far, 23 off 18. Australia were 133/4 after 30 overs. Ashton Turner is the new batsman.

Two quick wickets, those of Marcus Stoinis (37 off 53) in the 21st over by Kedar Jadhav and Usman Khawaja (50 off 76) in the 24th over by Kuldeep Yadav, have helped India reined in Aussies. After 25 overs, Aussies were 101/3 with unbeaten batsmen Peter Handscomb (9 off 15) and Glenn Maxwell (1 off 3) in the centre.

Usman Khawaja (39 off 52) and Marcus Stoinis (28 off 35)have added 71 runs for the second wicket to counter India's charge. Virat Kohli have utilised as many as six bowlers. Australia 71/1 after 15 overs.

Another maiden over from Mohammed Shami, his second in three overs today. Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah provided India just the perfect start by removing Australia captain Aaron Finch (0 off 3), caught behind. FoW-0/1 (1.3 over)

New man Marcus Stoinis joined opener Usman Khawaja in the centre. After five overs, Aussies were 13/1.

Toss and updates

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah

Australia: Aaron Finch(c), Usman Khawaja, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Alex Carey(w), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff

India lost the toss again, third in succession against the Aussies. And the Aussie captain Aaron Finch opted to bat first in his 100th ODI. One change for the Aussies, wicketkeeper Alex Carey coming in for Jhye Richardson. For India, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav come back.

The Indian cricket team will continue its experiments to figure out the final pieces of a jigsaw puzzle called the 'World Cup squad' as they take on a five-match ODI series against Australia.

The team is slowly moving into the World Cup mode and even a 0-2 loss in the just-concluded T20 series won't see any shift in plans as far as skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri are concerned.

"Every team will look to fine-tune whatever they need to before the World Cup, and we'll keep doing that in the ODI series too, but we still want to win every match we play," skipper Kohli said after the Bengaluru T20 loss headlining his intention.

The Australian team, buoyed by the maiden T20 triumph over India, will be eager to continue the momentum it has gained.

There will be at least four Indian players for whom the series will be like a 'pre-test', a good score ensuring that they get 'admit cards' for the board exams.

The four players in question are KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar and Siddarth Kaul, who are fighting for two available slots in that UK bound 15-member squad.

One man who will be keenly tracking the developments from the sidelines will be Dinesh Karthik, who still, many believe, has an outside chance of making it to the team.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant, Siddarth Kaul, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja.

Australia: Aaron Finch (c), D'Arcy Short, Shaun Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey, Peter Handscomb, Ashton Turner, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff, Jhye Richardson, Pat Cummins, Andrew Tye, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Nathan Lyon.