Gautam Gambhir enacts Shreyas Iyer’s dismissal in front of India’s batting coach as short-ball nightmare returns - Watch
Shreyas Iyer was dismissed for 11 by Josh Hazlewood in the first ODI. The short-ball once again led to the right-hander's downfall.
Shreyas Iyer has a clear weakness against the short ball. The batter might downplay his shortcomings against this one particular delivery, but the entire world knows that this ploy has resulted in his downfall on ample occasions. The tactic was once again used by Australia's Josh Hazlewood in the first ODI of the three-match series at the Optus Stadium in Perth, and it paid off immediately as the 30-year-old handed a simple catch to wicketkeeper Josh Philippe.
On the second delivery of the 14th over, the Australian pacer hit the deck hard and the ball slanted in from a back of a length. Iyer got into a tangle, and he glanced the delivery to the wicketkeeper. He got a faint glove, and Phillipe ended up completing the simple catch.
India vs Australia Live
Soon after, rain played spoilsport once again, and the players walked off the field. It was then that head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen enacting Iyer's dismissal as he possibly discussed the batter's shortcomings with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak.
However, Gambhir soon realised that the cameras were on him, so the discussion moved over to something else for the time being.
The first ODI between India and Australia marked the seventh time that Hazlewood got the better of Iyer across all formats, including domestic games.
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For the series against Australia, Shreyas was named India's vice-captain, and he's serving as Shubman Gill's deputy for the three-match contest.
Rain plays spoilsport
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and opted to bowl. However, the contest has been marred by rain ever since the first ball was bowled. The game has been reduced to 32 overs per side.
India handed a debut to Nitish Kumar Reddy while Australia gave maiden ODI caps to Matthew Renshaw and Mitchell Owen.
Rohit Sharma (8) and Virat Kohli (0) flopped on their return to international cricket as they gave their wickets cheaply to Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. The first ODI against Australia marks Rohit and Virat's first international game for India after the Champions Trophy 2025 win in March. The game is also the duo's first competitive match after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 edition.
Gill also failed to get going. The Indian captain was strangled down the legside off the bowling of Nathan Ellis.
