SYDNEY: Paceman Jhye Richardson took four for 26 as Australia finally gave their fans something to smile about with a 34-run victory over India in the first one-day international on Saturday despite a magnificent 133 from Rohit Sharma.
It was only a fourth win in 20 one-dayers going back to June 2017 for world champions Australia and came at the same Sydney Cricket Ground where their first home test series loss to India was sealed on Monday.
The home batsmen, spearheaded by Peter Handscomb’s 73, posted a competitive 288 for five off their 50 overs and when India stumbled to four for three inside four overs, it looked like being a rout.
Rohit, who missed the final test to go home for the birth of his first child, celebrated his return to the tour with a 138-run partnership with Mahendra Singh Dhoni (51) to get the innings back on track, however, and while he was batting, India had a chance.
Australia, wearing a retro canary yellow kit, won the toss and skipper and opener Aaron Finch decided to bat only to depart for a meagre six runs. — Reuters
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