New Delhi:
Australia rode on a dominating all-round display to thrash a lacklustre India by 72 runs in the first cricket one-day here on Sunday.
Electing to bat, the visitors piled up a mammoth 304 for eight relying on captain George Bailey's 85 and Aaron Finch's 72 and then shot India out for 232 in 49.4 overs to take 1-0 lead in the seven-match ODI series.
The Indian run chase under lights at the MCA Stadium never get going against the sustained and aggressive Australian bowling attack.
The visiting side, who were handed a four-wicket defeat in the one-off T20 International at Rajkot on October 10, bowled a disciplined line and length and choked the Indian batsmen in the middle overs.
Chasing 305 for a win, India needed to fire on the top of the order but they failed to do so, losing both the openers Shikhar Dhawan (7) and Rohit Sharma (42) for 66 on board in the 14th over.
Virat Kohli top-scored with 61 from 85 balls with six fours, while Suresh Raina contributed a 45-ball 39.
Ravindra Jadeja (11) and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (19) could not pull the team around after India slumped to 166 for five by the 35th over just before the power play and their dismissals in successive overs effectively ended the match.
For Australia, James Faulkner grabbed three wickets for while Clint McKay and Shane Watson chipped in with two wickets apiece. Mitchell Johnson, Aaron Finch and Adam Voges got a wicket each.
Australia had lost by four wickets in the opening game of their short tour, the one-off T20 International at Rajkot on October 10.
The two sides now moved to Jaipur for the second ODI on October 16.
Teams:
India: M S Dhoni (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R Vinay Kumar, Amit Mishra, Jaydev Unadkat and Mohd. Shami.
Australia: George Bailey (C), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Callum Ferguson, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin, Moises Henriques, Phil Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Adam Voges, Shane Watson.
Umpires: Richard Kettleborough and Vineet Kulkarni
Third umpire: C Shamsuddin
Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama.
