Perth, Oct 19 (IANS) Skipper Mitchell Marsh shepherded Australia’s chase as the hosts clinched a comfortable seven-wicket win in the first ODI against India here at the Optus Stadium, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Shubman Gill, leading India for the first time in an ODI since his appointment as the full-time captain, opened his captaincy career in the 50-over format with a loss.

Batting first, India faced a top-order collapse with veteran duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli struggling in their much-anticipated comeback to international cricket. The rain-marred match was reduced to 26 overs per side with India making 136 for 9.

Australia’s revised target was 131 runs off 26 overs, which the hosts chased down with 29 balls remaining .

Chasing 131, the hosts did suffer early blows, just like India in the first innings. While Arshdeep Singh struck in the second over to dismiss the dangerous Travis Head, Axar Patel ended Matthew Short’s struggle in the eighth over.

However, that did not have any impact on Australia’s momentum as skipper Mitchell Marsh and wicketkeeper-batter Josh Philippe kept things under control.

A change in bowling by the Indian skipper and his decision to bring in Washington Sundar helped India get another breakthrough as Philippe walked back to the pavilion, scoring 37 in 29 balls.

The Indian bowlers couldn’t contain the batters any further, as Marsh’s unbeaten 46, coupled with Philippe and Matt Renshaw’s contributions, helped the hosts secure a win.

Earlier in the day, India posted 136 runs on the board in 26 overs after the game was cut short owing to persistent rain delays. The hosts failed to gain early momentum and instead lost quick wickets in the powerplay, losing the entire top order for cheap.

While international returnees Rohit and Kohli were dismissed cheaply for 8 and 0, respectively, Shubman Gill, who was leading the side in his first assignment as the team’s full-time ODI skipper, also had only a brief outing with the bat, registering 10 (18).

Besides KL Rahul and Axar Patel, no other batter could go past the 30-run mark during their time on the field. Notably, Nitish Kumar Reddy’s power-hitting in the last over of the innings helped the Men in Blue get to 136/9.

Brief Scores: Australia, 131/3 in 21.1 overs (Mitchell Marsh 46, Josh Philippe 37; Arshdeep Singh 1-31, Axar Patel 1-19) beat India, 136/9 in 26 overs (KL Rahul 38, Axar Patel 31; Josh Hazlewood 2-20, Matthew Kuhnemann 2-26) by seven wickets via DLS method.

— IANS

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