The loss of three early wickets was a serious blow for India’s skipper Shubman Gill who confessed that it was already hard to handle the first ODI against Australia in Perth. Even though the batsmen had collapsed early, Gill praised the effort of his team for making the match rain-curtailed and stretching it deep before they finally lost by seven wickets.

Shubman Gill highlights learnings from early setbacks

“It’s never easy when you lose three wickets in the powerplay; you’re always trying to play catch up,” Gill said after the match. “There were a lot of learnings and positives as well.” India’s innings never truly recovered after openers Rohit Sharma (8) and Gill, along with Virat Kohli (0), departed within the first nine overs, leaving the visitors at 25 for 3.

Gill, however, praised his bowlers for fighting hard while defending a modest DLS-adjusted total of 131. “Defending 130 in 26 overs, we took the game pretty deep, so we’re satisfied with that,” he added. The young captain also acknowledged the strong support from Indian fans in Australia. “We’re very fortunate that wherever we play, fans turn up in huge numbers. Hopefully, they’ll cheer us on in Adelaide as well.”

The loss ended India’s eight-match winning streak in ODIs, marking their first defeat of 2025.

On the other hand, Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh, who guided his side home with an unbeaten 46, said the DLS chase wasn’t as straightforward as it looked. “The ball was swinging a bit, so it was a little challenging,” Marsh said. He praised teammate Josh Philippe (37 off 29 balls) for his composure. “He came out and made it look very easy. It’s great to see our guys taking the game on and enjoying themselves,” Marsh added.