Shubman Gill’s inaugural match as India’s One Day International captain concluded with a disappointing seven-wicket loss to Australia in Perth. This defeat places Gill in an unwelcome record, joining the ranks of Indian captains, including Virat Kohli, who have lost their first match in charge across formats.
The match was marred by rain interruptions, shortening India’s innings to just 26 overs. However, India’s top order struggled significantly early on, making the chase a challenging task for the new captain. After winning the toss and electing to field, Australia successfully restricted India to a total of 136 for nine wickets.
KL Rahul emerged as the standout performer for India, smashing a quickfire 38 runs off just 31 balls. He built crucial partnerships with Axar Patel (31) and Washington Sundar (10) to help stabilize the innings after the top three, Rohit Sharma (8), Gill (10), and Virat Kohli (0), collectively managed only 18 runs, marking the lowest aggregate by India’s top three in a men’s ODI since 2019. Nitish Reddy finished the innings with a brisk 19 not out, including two sixes, helping India post a competitive total under the Duckworth-Lewis system.
In reply, Australian captain Mitchell Marsh led his team to a comfortable victory with an unbeaten 46. He formed strong partnerships with Matthew Short (8), Josh Philippe (37), and Matt Renshaw, who made a valuable 21 not out on his ODI debut. The Australian side reached their revised target of 131 with nearly five overs to spare, demonstrating clinical execution.
Reflecting on the match, Gill acknowledged the steep learning curve associated with his new leadership role: “When you lose three wickets in the powerplay, you’re always trying to play a catch-up game. A lot of learning for us from this game, and a lot of positives for us as well. We were defending 130 and we took the game, not till the very end, but pretty deep. We were very satisfied with that.”
India’s tour of Australia continues with further ODIs scheduled in Adelaide and Sydney later this week, followed by a five-match T20 series commencing October 29. Despite the disappointing start, Gill and his team will be eager to recover and perform strongly against a confident Australian squad.