Australia vs India, 1st ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

"Early season here in WA means there'll be a lot of moisture and live grass. The fast men will be zipping it around," says Matthew Hayden speaking about the surface which is a drop-in pitch.

Jay: "With overcast conditions, India should go with Arshdeep Singh."

10:50 Local Time, 02:50 GMT, 08:20 IST: "Really cleared up nicely here in Perth. Still a generous cloud cover but play should start on time. Bowling skies though," posts Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) on X.

10:40 Local Time, 02:40 GMT, 08:10 IST: The Optus Stadium has hosted just three ODIs and Australia have lost all of them. Batting generally has been tricky at this venue. What's in store today? Well, rain seems to be following wherever there's cricket - Colombo, Christchurch and the forecast isn't ideal in Perth as well. The good news, however, is there's no rain now and the players are warming up. "Debutants Matt Renshaw and Mitch Owen have been presented with their caps," is the latest update from the cricket.com.au. In the Indian camp, Nitish Kumar Reddy receives his ODI cap from Rohit Sharma.

Australia will be without their regular captain - Pat Cummins - who is currently recovering from a back injury. Their ODI side is also going through a transition phase following the retirements of Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell. Both of them retired from the ODIs after Australia's exit in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy and those are big shoes to fill. The Aussies did play an off-season ODI series at home against South Africa which they lost 1-2. In Travis Head and Mitch Marsh, the Aussies have an experienced-cum-explosive opening pair. Similarly, with the ball, Mitchell Strac and Josh Hazlewood form a lethal pair. However, apart from that, there's a lot of inexperience and the hosts are expected to experiment through this series.

It's just the beginning of a long Australian cricket season and the Ashes banter has already started. The 2026 T20 World Cup, set to be played in India and Sri Lanka, isn't too far away either. Is it too early to prepare for the 2027 ODI World Cup? Well, India have a new ODI captain in Shubman Gill. Certainly that decision must have been made with an eye on the big tournament. India's top five is full of experience and class. There'll be a lot of eyeballs on the two veterans of Indian cricket - Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli - who have now stepped away from the other two formats. India are playing an ODI for the first time since the final of the Champions Trophy which was played more than seven months ago. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the ODIs but he'll join the T20 squad. In Hardik Pandya's absence, it'll be interesting to see if India use NKR as the genuine all-rounder. Also, don’t miss the insightful piece (plugged above) by Vijay Tagore.

10:30 Local Time, 02:30 GMT, 08:00 IST:19th November 2023, Ahmedabad - Australia beat India by 6 wickets to become the World Champions for the sixth time. 4th March 2025, Dubai - India beat Australia in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy before eventually winning the competition. The stakes were unbelievably high in the last two meetings between these two teams. In contrast, this is just a bilateral series. But hey, it's Australia vs India! So, this should be fun. Hello everyone and a warm welcome to the first of the three ODIs. The Optus Stadium is the battleground today.

Preview by Bharat Sundaresan

It was the only time Shubman Gill uncrossed his arms in the 10 or so minutes he stood addressing the media on the Matilda Bay waterfront. And it came at the very end of his press conference on the eve of the first ODI. After having spent all that while with his hands tightly folded across his chest, he let them drop before casually slipping them into his pockets. It was also the first time on Saturday afternoon that the new India 50-over captain was asked about his own batting.

Till that point, most of the questions had somewhat and somehow gravitated back to Gill's immediate two predecessors. Both of whom, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, will be playing their first match for India in over eight months on Sunday. Both of whom have now retired from all other formats.

This is not to suggest that Gill's body language meant he was holding back in any way when it came to talking about Rohit and Kohli. Whether it was him raving about the privilege of captaining two of the most successful ODI cricketers of all time. Or getting to pick their brains as leaders in the lead-up to his first go at leading an Indian team in this format.

But it just was too obvious not to mention how much more relaxed he seemed to be when Gill did get the opportunity to talk about Shubman Gill.

In a way it seemed apt too. This is officially the start of a new era for India in ODI cricket. But whether it's in the way the series has been promoted or the way it's been sold, the overwhelming narrative has surrounded the two modern-day behemoths of Indian cricket.

Almost to the extent that it's overshadowed most other storylines going into the opening game, across both dressing-rooms for that matter. You are after all talking about the most prolific century-maker in ODI history and another giant of the format, who's scored three ODI double hundreds for good measure.

And with the next 50-over World Cup still two years away, the overall relevance of this three-match series does not match up with the five T20Is that will follow right after. Considering how close we are to the next World Cup in the shortest format.

More reason for the focus to likely remain entrenched on Kohli and Rohit over the next week or so. From picking up signs as to whether they could push on till 2027 or even getting used to seeing them in India colours again after what seems like a lengthy break, especially when you consider how significantly the duo have in large ways defined the last 15 years of Indian cricket.

When: Australia v India, 1st ODI, October 19, 2025, 11:30 hrs Local Time, 14:30 hrs AEDT, 09:00 hrs IST

Where: Optus Stadium, Perth

What to expect: It's not officially summer yet in Australia but it's been a warm few days in Perth leading into the weekend. There has been some weather around though and there is forecast for constant rain on Sunday. Despite a cloudy start, there was only but a slight drizzle to contend with on Saturday, which is a positive sign perhaps. There have been more Tests than ODIs at this venue and though the pitch from afar does look good to bat on, it remains to be seen if the bowlers have their way as has been the norm so far here. Local authorities have been over the moon with ticket sales by the way, and we could potentially see the biggest crowd for an international cricket match at the Optus.

Team News \n \n[b]Australia

All the talk around Australian cricket in the last few weeks has centred around the Ashes, and understandably so. But through injuries and tactical selections, there is a lot of moving and shaking with the Australian ODI line-up. Matt Renshaw and Mitch Owen are slated to make their ODI debuts to start with Josh Philippe, originally from Western Australia, set to return to the fold. Though the line-up does look a bit inexperienced through the middle, it's bookended in elite fashion with Travis Head and captain Marsh at the top of the batting order and the legendary duo of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to share the new-ball.

Probable XI: Travis Head, Mitch Marsh (c), Matt Renshaw, Matt Short, Mitch Owen, Josh Philippe (wk), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood

India

India are without Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya but still carry a formidable look through the ranks with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Arshdeep Singh, if he's picked ahead of Prasidh Krishna, very talented replacements.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, Arshdeep Singh/Prasidh Krishna

Squads:

India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel, Prasidh Krishna

Australia Squad: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Short, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe(w), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Starc, Xavier Bartlett, Josh Hazlewood, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann