India’s stand-in captain Shubman Gill admitted that it was tough for the team to bounce back after losing three key wickets early in the first ODI against Australia. However, he felt the team still fought well and managed to stretch the game quite far on Sunday.
India lost both openers, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill himself, along with senior batter Virat Kohli during the powerplay. The early blows set them back, and they couldn’t recover fully, eventually losing the rain-affected match by seven wickets.
“Never easy, when you lose three wickets in the powerplay, you’re always trying to play catch up. There were a lot of learnings and positives as well,” said Gill after the match.
The much-awaited return of experienced players Virat Kohli (0) and Rohit Sharma (8) was short-lived, lasting only 22 balls in total. India quickly slipped to 25 for 3 by the ninth over, with Australia striking early and putting the visitors under pressure. Despite the rough start, Gill said that India didn’t give up easily and made Australia work hard for their win.
“Defending 130 in 26 odd overs, we took the game pretty deep so we’re satisfied with that,” added Gill.
He said the huge fan following at the stadiums will motivate the team on the white-ball tour.
“We’re very fortunate that wherever we play, fans turn up in huge numbers. Hopefully, they’ll be able to cheer us on at Adelaide as well,” said Gill.
This marked India’s first loss in One Day Internationals in 2025, ending their winning streak of eight matches in a row.