India vs Australia 1st ODI - India defeated by 34 runs

First one day international, Sydney

Australia- 288/5 (50 Overs)

India- 254/9 (50 Overs)

After creating history by winning first ever test series in Australia, India is all set to play against Australia in the three-match ODI with the first match today on Saturday. This series is all about analyzing and understanding the team's strengths and weaknesses to make them more prepared for the World Cup later in 2019.

Australian captain Aron Flinch won the toss and had decided to bat first setting a target of 288 for India. Chasing Australia's 289 runs, India could score 254/9 in 50 overs. Australia defeated India by 34 runs. In the three-match series, Australia is leading with 1-0.

Rohit Sharma (133) and Dhoni (51) played an important knock for India, who lost three wickets in just four runs. Rohit and Dhoni added 137 runs for the fourth wicket. However, Australia's bowler Jason Behrendford dismissed Dhoni. Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, and Ambati Rayudu returned to the tent with just four runs. India in first four overs lost 3 wickets with just 4 runs added to the scoreboard. One wicket was taken by Jason Behrendorfer and two wickets by Richardson. In the debut match, Jason Behrendorfor took the wicket of Shekhar Dhawan with LBW on the sixth ball of his first over.

Australia scored 288 runs in 50 overs losing 5 wickets. India needed 289 runs in 50 overs to win the first match. Peter Handscomb scored the highest score of 73 (61) for Australia. Next in line were Usman Khawaja 59 (81), Shawn Marsh 54 (70) who scored the highest score. Marcus Stonis (47) and Glenn Maxwell (11) remained unbeaten. Kuldeep Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar shared two wickets each for India while Mohammed Shami took one wicket.

Under Kohli's leadership, India won the Test series in Australia 71 years later. However, Australia appeared to be a much better team in ODI as compared to the Test. There is no question that India will have to make an all-time extra effort to win the ODI series. The batsmen and bowlers had a similar job in the Test series. But in the one-day matches, it seems that India will have to rely on the bowlers to a greater extent. With two more matches remaining it will be fascinating to see how Indian's play.