Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar shared his views on the matter Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma failed to get between the runs in the first ODI against Australia at the Perth Stadium on Sunday, October 19. The two veterans returned to international cricket for the first time since the Champions Trophy final in March 2025.
While Rohit made eight off 14 balls, Kohli failed to open his account after facing eight deliveries. They were fired by Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc respectively. India lost the match by seven wickets, failing to defend a DLS revised target of 131 runs. The match was reduced to 26 overs per team after several rain breaks.
While a section of the cricket fraternity started criticizing the star duo after the debacle in the first ODI, Gavaskar decided to cut some slack. The cricketer turned commentator said the conditions were not easy to bat in and the likes of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer, who have played more international cricket than the stalwarts in recent times, also found it difficult to adapt.
“Yes, but they were playing on the bounciest pitch in Australia. So it wouldn’t be easy if you didn’t have international cricket to your name for a few months. It wasn’t easy for the Shubman Gills, Shreyas Iyers and others, who have been playing international cricket regularly for a while,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“So it wasn’t just the two of them who weren’t able to handle the bouncing ball. Maybe KL Rahul could have gone in a little earlier after the first few wickets. But I wouldn’t be too hard on both these great players,” he added.
The second ODI will be played at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, October 23. Shubman Gill and Co. will need to come back strong from the extensive beating in Perth. Australia, on the other hand, will want to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series if they win in Adelaide.
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