Team India batter Virat Kohli endured a failure in the first ODI against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday, March 17. Mitchell Starc was too hot to handle for him in swinging conditions as the Australian pacer dismissed him LBW with a beautiful incoming delivery for just four runs.
Australia batted first in the contest after Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to field. Mohammed Shami (3/17) and Mohammed Siraj (3/29) bowled magnificent spells and played a major role in Team India skittling out Australia for 188 inside 36 overs. Mitchell Marsh (81) was the only batter to perform well for the visiting side.
In reply, Team India lost Ishan Kishan early in the second over, which brought Virat Kohli to the crease. He looked tentative as Mitchell Starc looked in ominous form, swinging the ball at will. He hit a pristine straight drive for a four and raised his fans’ hopes of a big knock. However, Starc pinned him down LBW plumb in front of stumps soon after, drawing curtains on his stay at the crease.
Fans were disappointed after witnessing Kohli‘s early dismissal in a tricky chase. They expressed their reactions to the same through Twitter. Here are some of the best reactions:
“There’s always good bounce in the Mumbai wickets”- Team India pacer Mohammed Shami after his impressive spell in the 1st ODI vs Australia
Speaking at the mid-innings break, standout Indian bowler Mohammed Shami highlighted that the pitch at the venue always has some bounce in it, which is encouraging for the pacers. He shed light on his spell and felt that he was reaping the rewards for hard work in the nets.
Shami said:
“There’s a lot of hard work behind this. You have to work hard in the nets. It’s not that easy but when you bowl in the right rhythm and bowl the right lines and lengths, it feels good. There’s always good bounce in the Mumbai wickets. I found the right areas from the start and you could see the results.”
“It was just moving a bit and the plan with Hardik was to keep a slip in place. Everyone has to go a long way and plan big. They all need the confidence. I think we’ve restricted them to a really good score and we should not have much difficulty chasing it down.”
At the time of writing, India reached 58/4 in 14 overs.
