Now that the total has been reduced for the Australians, the outfield might also be slippery and much quicker due to the recent rains. Wade charges down the track and Chahal responds by bowling a wide googly outside off. MS Dhoni, in at no. Knuckle ball with a little with, forces Head to go for it.India 11-2 after 5.Squads:India (for 1st three ODIs): Virat Kohli (Captain), Yuzvendra Chahal, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Kedar Jadhav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Umesh Yadav. Gets the top edge and in the hands of Bumrah.6 is welcomed in style.India 38-3 after 11 overs:Australia continue to put the pressure on the hosts. Pre-match media interactions, done. Nathan Coulter-Nile up for the next over. The Aussie skipper goes for it too early, gets the top edge and finds Bumrah at short fine leg. The Men in Blue need to avoid any risks at this moment.
WICKET! Nothing is going India&EVA umbrella39;s way. He smokes Adam Zampa for three biggies, and it's a huge over for India, bringing 23 runs. India in cruise control.2nd innings: The rain Gods are being mean today, as the covers are being called for again.The 2nd innings has been halted due to a slight drizzle at the venue. The southpaw miscues his shot and gives an easy one to Dhoni behind. After surviving an LBW scare on the previous ball, Smith is bamboozled by Pandya's change of pace.Australia 45-4 after 9 overs: WICKET! Up goes the finger. Coulter-Nile bowls it wide outside off, Rahane makes room and nicks the ball straight to Wade. (Photo: PTI) # Chennai: Virat Kohli's Team India took a 1-0 lead in the 5-match ODI series against Australia on Sunday, after a fine all-round performance.GOOD NEWS! The covers are being called off and Australia will have to chase a target of 164 in 21 overs. The India skipper is out for nought and the crowd is in absolute silence.WICKET! Another one for Chahal. Out for nought. Jadhav and Rohit are finding their feet slowly, but the pitch seems to be assisting the Australian pacers. India are crumbling like nine-pins as Hardik Pandya makes his way to the crease.
The opener once again falls prey to a short ball and Coulter-Nile at deep square leg takes an easy catch.Australia 20-2 after 5 overs: WICKET! Cartwright has no answer to that.India 281-7 after 50 overs: WICKET! After two boundaries in the over, Dhoni makes his way back to the pavillion. Full and wide outside off, Kohli forces for the drive and directs it straight to Maxwell at backward point. Warner nicks one straight to Dhoni trying to play a cut off a googly from Kuldeep. Both of India's openers, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma have opened their account, but the new ball is shaping very well, something that will benefit the Australians.
Dream spell by Coulter-Nile this. After a mix-up with Dhoni on the previous ball, Jadhav pulls one straight to cartwright at mid-wicket. India 198-5 after 40 overs: Courtesy of some hard-hitting from Hardik Pandya, India get to the 200 run mark.India’s bowling too looks in good shape with the comeback of Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami. India doing wonders.Australia: Steve Smith (Captain), Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Kane Richardson, Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper), Adam Zampa, Ashton agar, Nathan Coultier-Nile, James Faulkner, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner (vice-captain). Overs will be shortened if it continues to rain like this.Australia 78-6 after 13 overs: WICKET! Maxwell's sizzling cameo comes to an end after he fails to pick one from Chahal.Australia, meanwhile, will be sweating over the fitness of their opener Aaron Finch.1 overs:WICKET! Australia get the big fish, thanks to a stunner from Glen Maxwell. The leg spinner tosses it up and gives a bit of flight. India finish at 281-7!India 262-6 after 48 overs:Vintage MS Dhoni as the former India skipper batters Faulkner for 16 runs in the over.Australia 31-3 after 7 overs: WICKET!
Pandya is working his magic with the ball now.India, who are enjoying a fine run of form, winning Tests, ODIs and a solitary T20 in Sri Lanka on their way to 9-0 scoreline, start as favourites.Australia’s middle-order will depend a lot on Smith, India’s nemesis for a long time as Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade and James Faulkner will have to guide an inexperienced Australian batting line-up. Back of the length delivery and the youngster displays his poor shot selection by going for a pull.Game will be resumed at 19:00 IST and 7 overs reduced from the Australian innings. However, the two won’t get a direct entry in the playing XI as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah had hardly put a foot wrong in the limited-overs leg in Sri Lanka. Pandya attains his highest ODI score and also brings up a century partnership with Dhoni.
Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar will take care of the spin-bowling department with Maxwell chipping in with a few overs. India 205-6 from 41 overs: Hardik Pandya's majestic knock comes to an end after he miscues his slog. The leg spinner spins the ball away from Cummins who looks to go big over mid-wicket.India 228-6 from 45 overs: India have eased-off after Pandya's departure, saving wickets for the final overs.India 11-3 after 5.Virat Kohli has won the toss as India elected to bat in the first ODI against Steve Smith-led Australia here on Sunday. Brings up the 50-run partnership with Bhuvneshwar. Pandya inspired India with both bat and ball, striking a blazing 83 while scalping 2 wickets for 28 runs.India 11-1 after 4 overs:WICKET! Never looked convincing, did he? After miscuing his pull, Ajinkya Rahane departs the next ball.India 172-5 after 37 overs: There's no stopping Hardik Pandya as he gets to a quick-fire 50. Dhoni charges down the track but gets a top edge that lands straight to Warner at long off.
Dhoni takes the bails off in a flash.With the likes of Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav and KL Rahul still in the squad, Kohli has options at his disposal to pick and choose the power hitters. What has been the hallmark of his highlights despite the smoky blows, is the discipline he's shown to rotate the strike with MS Dhoni. Big task ahead for India if they have to pull this off.India 64-4 after 16 overs: WICKET! Just a ball after the 50 bringing up the 50-run partnership, Rohit Sharma departs. Zampa has the last laugh as his ball turns away, gets the top edge of Pandya and lands to Faulkner at short third man.While Australia will surely miss the likes of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins’ presence gives Australia some much-needed pace at the top.Australia 137-9 (21 overs): Zampa 5(4) Faulkner 32(25); Bumrah 4-0-20-1, Bhuvneshwar 4-0-25-1 Hardik Pandya inspired India with both bat and ball, striking a blazing 83 while scalping 2 wickets for 28 runs. However, in reply the Australian's failed to chase a restricted target of 164 in 21 overs after rains halted play..India 2-0 after 1 over:A decent first-up from Pat Cummins. Maxwell gives an easy catch to Pandey at long on.
India 120-5 after 30 overs: India have kept the scoreboard ticking at a healthy rate, with MS Dhoni playing a supportive role to Pandya.3 overs:WICKET! Is this for real? Manish Pandey has to make his way back to the pavillion and it's another duck for the Men in Blue. Ball goes high up and straight to Jadeja at deep mid-wicket. A maximum of 5 overs can be allotted to only one bowler while the others can bowl a maximum of 4 overs. Electing to bat first, the hosts set 281-7 on board after a dreary start.While they will feel the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, who is released from the squad for the first three ODIs to be with his wife, the form of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni provide the home team with solid batting power. The real drama and action are now set to get underway as Virat Kohli-led India take on Steve Smith’s Australia in the series opening first ODI at the Chepauk in Chennai on Sunday.Australia 7-0 after 2 overs:Decent first overs from Burmah and Bhuvneshwar, with the ball doing it's bit. There's no information yet on the target the Australians have to chase in application of the D/L method.WICKET! Not much of an effort there for India. India in deep trouble.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Dhoni have kept the scoreboard ticking with ones and twos, but they need to go big in the last few overs to achieve a respectable total. Stoinis wraps up his quota with figures of 54-2. Big match player. Cartwright misses and Bumrah hits. The covers have been put on and game should be resumed in a while.India’s spin-bowling department too presents Kohli with a variety with Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahala and Ravindra Jadeja to choose from.Australia 137-9 after 21 overs: WICKET! Coulter-Nile can't help much with the bat as he smacks a slower one off Bhuvneshwar straight to Jadhav at deep mid-wicket.Preview:Warm-up game, done. While the visitors have called in Peter Handscomb as Finch’s backup and has Travis Head in their ranks, Smith and co will like to have Finch to partner David Warner at the top.WICKET! There's no stopping India. India, however, need wickets soon if they are to make things difficult for the visitors.WICKET! Tossed up from Yadav, Stoinis goes low for a slog sweep, but doesn't quite connect well. Change of pace does the trick for Stoinis as Jadhav fails to read his short ball