Mitchell Marsh, stepping in as Australia’s captain, showcased his excellent form on Sunday by scoring an unbeaten 46 and leading his team to a seven-wicket victory over India at Perth Stadium in a rain-affected first ODI.
India struggled to 136-9 in 26 overs, with play halted four times by rain, setting a revised target of 131 for Australia, which they chased down in 21.1 overs.
The 42,423-strong crowd, predominantly in blue, eagerly awaited the appearance of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as India began their innings.
Returning to international play with an eye on the 2027 World Cup, the former captains played their first match since the Champions Trophy victory in March.
Both struggled against Australia’s pace attack, with Rohit edging a Josh Hazlewood delivery to second slip for eight and Kohli being caught by Cooper Connolly off Mitchell Starc for a duck.
New ODI captain Shubman Gill (10) was caught behind by Josh Philippe off Nathan Ellis, leaving India at 37-3 before a two-hour rain delay.
The crowd cheered sarcastically as the covers were removed, and then genuinely when Shreyas Iyer (11) hit Hazlewood for a boundary, only to be caught by Philippe two balls later.
Mitch Owen and Matthew Kuhnemann maintained pressure, stalling Axar Patel (31) and KL Rahul (38), though Nitish Kumar Reddy added excitement with a quick 19 off 11 balls.
Marsh, filling in for Pat Cummins, whose participation in the Ashes is in doubt due to a back injury, launched Australia’s innings with three sixes, continuing his form from South Africa and New Zealand series.
Josh Philippe, returning to ODIs for the first time since 2021, contributed an aggressive 37 before being caught by Arshdeep Singh.
Matt Renshaw finished the chase unbeaten on 21, with Singh, Patel, and Washington Sundar each taking a wicket.
The series continues in Adelaide on Thursday and concludes in Sydney on Saturday.
