NEW DELHI: The build-up to India's ODI series against Australia was dominated by the much-anticipated return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma after a seven-month hiatus. However, the highly hyped comeback of the star duo came as a complete shock for Indian fans.
The first ODI against Australia at Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday delivered a harsh reality check, as the highly anticipated comeback of the former captains ended in disappointment.
Virat Kohli falls for a duck on return to international cricket
Kohli got out for an eight-ball duck to Mitchell Starc while Rohit was ousted by Josh Hazlewood for eight. India's trouble mounted when Shubman Gill (10) also failed to make any impact in his first outing as ODI captain.
The top-order collapse saw India reduced to 27/3 in 10 overs, equaling their unwanted record for the lowest Powerplay total since 2023. India had found themselves in the same situation against Australia in Chennai during the league stage of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Lowest Powerplay total for India since 2023
27/3 vs Aus Chennai 2023
27/3 vs Aus Perth 2025 *
35/2 vs Eng Lucknow 2023
37/3 vs NZ Dubai 2025
39/3 vs Aus Wankhede 2023
Other notable low Powerplay scores include 35/2 against England in Lucknow (2023), 37/3 versus New Zealand in Dubai (2025), and 39/3 against Australia at Wankhede (2023). These numbers highlight moments when India's top order failed to capitalise early, putting pressure on the middle order to stabilize the innings.
The aggregate of 18 runs between the three players, Rohit (8), Gill (10), and Kohli (0), now stands as the lowest combined score for the trio in any ODI they've played together. The previous unwanted record was 25 runs against Pakistan in Pallekele in 2023(Rohit 11, Gill 10, Kohli 4).
18 runs by India's top three today is their lowest aggregate in an ODI since the 2019 CWC semifinal against NZ in Manchester, where they made three runs.
