India vs Australia 1st ODI Highlights: KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja lead IND to five-wicket win over AUS

For Mohammed Siraj, Australia remains one of his his favourite teams to square off against. It was against them that he made his Test debut during an emotional time in his life and just three matches later, picked up his maiden five-wicket-haul in international cricket. A little over 2 years later, Siraj is a Test specialist for India but continues to look for ways to become an automatic pick in their limited-overs setup. Siraj's ODI debut was also against Australia in 2019 where he conceded 76 from 10 overs, but after a fine comeback in 2022, the India pacer has been tough to get away with. In 24 matches, Siraj has claimed 38 ODI wickets, going wicketless just once and his average of 14.37 at home is the second-best among bowlers to have bowled over 50 overs in India.

India vs Australia is a rivalry quite like no other. It wasn't as big in the 1990s given how one-sided the contests used to be, but over the last 10 years, the intensity has increased manifold. India and Australia have faced each other 143 times in ODIs, with the 5-time World Champions enjoying a solid 80-53 record. And to raise the stakes, the 1st ODI is being played at Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium which has always assisted batters. In fact, the average first-innings total at this venue in last five ODIs is 293, and judging by this pattern, another run-fest appears to be on the cards.

In another injury setback for India, Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the Australia series, and who knows how long is he expected to be out of action. India however should not be fretting much over his injury as they have more than one suitable candidates available to take his place in the XI. But none more likely than Suryakumar Yadav. Given what SKY has achieved in T20Is for India, his ODI career so far has remained a bit of an enigma, but today is a chance, a fresh start for SKY to set the record straight.

Nostalgia at its peak. India head coach Rahul Dravid, who has played a match in 2013, put on a helmet and picked up a bat on the eve of the match but albeit for a different reason. Dravid turned fielding coach to give Shubman Gill slip catching drills. There are hardly any better sights better in world cricket than to watch some legendary cricketers show glimpses of their glorious past. So thank you Rahul Dravid for this small throwback moment.

In all the euphoria surrounding Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya, do not forget the Australians, led by the one and only Steve Smith. Australia's stand-in captain, currently with 4917 runs in another 83 away from breaching the 5000-run mark in ODIs. Smith has a chance to become the 17th Australian batter to get to the milestone and if he does it today, he will become the second-fastest in terms of innings. David Warner leads having taken 115 innings to score 5000 ODI runs. 

Did you know? Australia have outclassed India in two of their last three bilateral ODI series. In 2019, Australia beat India 3-2, after India had taken a 2-0 lead and a year later in 2020, the Aussies registered a 2-1 win at home. And for the first time since 2009, Australia have a shot at notching up back-to-back ODI series wins over India. Having said that, India have won 13 out of the 14 bilateral series and by no stretch of the imagination, will they be easy to roll over.

Virat Kohli is at a stage in his career that every match he plays, he has at least one batting record in sight. And today is no different. Kohli, who become the second-highest centurion in international cricket having notched up his 75th in the 4th India vs Australia Test, is closing in on another big milestone. Kohli is 191 runs away from becoming the 5th batter to complete 13000 ODI runs after Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting, Sanath Jayasuriya. Provided he gets there in this series, he will become the fastest to the landmark  in terms of innings.

It is likely that Rohit Sharma has 6 months left for his ODI captaincy. By the time the 50-over World Cup will conclude in November this year, Rohit will be 36 and in all likelihood, step down as India's ODI captaincy too. So when the time comes, Hardik Pandya will take over that role. The legendary Sunil Gavaskar has already thrown his weight behind Hardik, backing him to succeed Rohit, the road to which begins today as Pandya gears up for his first ODI as Team India captain. Hardik has led India brilliantly in T20Is, winning 8 matches out 11 and losing just 2 and will be taking his baby steps towards a bigger responsibility.  

Regular India skipper Rohit Sharma is not available for the first ODI against Australia due to personal commitments. This opens up the doors for Ishan Kishan, who has not been in the best of forms ever since smashing that double hundred against Bangladesh. Stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya, however, confirmed that Kishan will open with Shubman Gill. That means KL Rahul will continue to bat in the middle order.

This will be the first ODI between India and Australia since December 2020. It was played in Canberra. India won the match by 13 runs. Hardik Pandya was the star of the show with an unbeaten 92-run knock. Can he repeat the same performance this time around? There will be added responsibility of captaining the side but Hardik has shown he is cut for leadership.

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of India vs Australia's 1st ODI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. There is drama, there is anticipation, there is tension and of course, high-quality cricket all around when India and Australia lock horns in the form of cricket. The three-match ODI series is unlikely to be anything different.