• Source:JND
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India vs Australia 1st ODI Match: India's head coach Gautam Gambhir looked furious after the team's 7-wicket defeat in the first ODI match against Australia to go 0-1 down in the three-match series. The rain-marred contest at the Optus Stadium on Sunday was Shubman Gill's first as the ODI skipper, having replaced Rohit Sharma for the role.

Gambhir was quick to confront skipper Gill after the Men in Blue were completely outclassed in all departments in the series opener. He was seen having an intense chat with Gill, bowling coach Morne Morkel and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak.

While the match witnessed the much-awaited returns of senior batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to action in international cricket, fans questioned India's combination in the first match of the all-important series as the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Prasidh Krishna missed out from the playing XI. Gambhir's chat with Gill triggered speculations regarding the future of Virat and Rohit in ODI cricket as well, after the veteran stars failed to perform in Perth.

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While Rohit managed to score just 8 runs, Virat departed for an 8-ball duck before skipper Gill also headed back to the pavilion after scoring 10 runs.

In the post-match presentation, Gill acknowledged that losing some big wickets early in the innings put India on the back foot. However, he praised the team's effort in dragging the match deep while defending a modest total in the rain-hit encounter. It was also Gill's first leadership assignment in the 50-over format.

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"When you lose three wickets in the powerplay, you're always trying to play a catch-up game," said Gill, referencing the rain-interrupted contest that saw India post a below-par score of 130. "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."

Gill also thanked the Indian fans for turning up in huge numbers, despite the weather being a huge concern. "We are very fortunate," he said. "The fans turned up in huge numbers and hopefully they'll be able to cheer us on in Adelaide as well."

 

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