NEWS WAVE INDIA: India got off to a winning start in the ODI series against Australia as they beat the visitors by 5 wickets in the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium. The hosts had won the toss and elected to bowl first, and their decision proved to be the right one as they bowled out Australia for 188 runs, thanks to impressive spells by Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj who took three wickets each. Although Mitchell Marsh scored a brilliant 81 off 65 balls, the rest of the Australian batting line-up failed to make significant contributions.

Chasing a modest target of 189 runs, India suffered a top-order collapse but KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja’s unbeaten partnership of 121 runs took India home with 61 balls to spare. Rahul remained not out on 75 runs, while Jadeja scored an unbeaten 45 to guide India to a comfortable victory.

India’s stand-in captain Hardik Pandya’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss proved to be a masterstroke as his bowlers restricted Australia to a below-par total. The win will give India a lot of confidence going into the next match of the series and they will be hoping to continue their winning momentum.

Overall, it was a great performance by the Indian team, who will be looking to put up a similar show in the remaining matches of the series.