New Delhi: Shubman Gill lost his first ODI as captain as India went down by seven wickets in the rain-affected first ODI of the three-match series against Australia at the Perth Stadium in Perth on Sunday, October 19. Australia rode on skipper Mitchell Marsh’s unbeaten 46 and Josh Philippe’s 37 off 29 balls to comfortably chase down the target of 131 runs in 21.1 overs in the 26-overs-a-side contest and wrap up a dominant win.
Australia spoiled Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s much-awaited ODI comeback as the duo were sent packing inside 22 balls after India were asked to bat first in the game. Rohit departed after scoring 8 off 14 balls, while Kohli was dismissed on an 8-ball duck by Mitchell Starc. After a top-order collapse, India laboured their way to 136 off 26 overs with the help of KL Rahul’s 38 and Axar Patel’s 31 off 38 balls.
However, the total didn’t prove to be enough as Australia secured an easy victory to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. After losing his first ODI as captain, Gill equalled an unwanted feat achieved by former India captain Virat Kohli. Gill became only the second Indian captain, after Kohli, to lose his first match in all three formats as captain.
Indian captains to lose first match in charge in all three formats:
Virat Kohli
Shubman Gill
Gill lost his first T20I match as captain against Zimbabwe in Harare in July last year. India lost the game by 13 runs, but bounced back to win the series. In his first Test match as captain in England earlier this year, India lost by five wickets at Headingley in Leeds. However, India staged a fightback to draw the five-match series 2-2.
Gill on Sunday lost his first ODI as captain to become only the second captain to lose his first game in charge in all three formats. He will be hoping to lead his team to an inspiring comeback in the second ODI at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on Thursday, October 23.