Rohit, Kohli falter on return, India lose ODI

The return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to international cricket lasted 22 balls in all.as India endured a poor start to their white-ball tour of Australia. It was a seven-wicket defeat in the first ODI which had to be curtailed to a 26-over affair owing to four rain interruptions at Perth on Sunday.

- Somshuvra Laha

Both sides wanted to bowl first in damp conditions on a pitch that had very little grass. Mitchell Marsh won the toss to put India into bat and it turned out to be a grim outing for the visitors.

Perth is just warming up for the Australian summer with the sun playing hide and seek on a cloudy day. It proved to be ideal conditions for the indefatigable Josh Hazlewood who bowled accurately to menacing effect, delivering 35 dot balls while returning 2/20 in seven overs.

Equally tireless was Mitchell Starc, playing his first ODI in nearly a year but picking up from where he had left. He even produced a delivery that the speed gun clocked at 176.5 kph. Add to that the incessant rainforced breaks and India soon looked out of depth in a format they rarely play now.

In such adverse conditions, India needed their most experienced batters to be firm, but both Kohli and Rohit looked scratchy before they were dismissed cheaply. Kohli’s eightball duck was particularly disappointing, given he was returning toa venue that had witnessed his last Test hundred last year.