Ind vs Aus, 1st ODI: Pandya’s all-round performance helps India defeat Aussies to take 1-0 lead in series

Virat Kohli and team defeated Australia by 26 runs via Duckworth-Lewis method in the first ODI at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. With this win, India took 1-0 lead in the 5-match series.

Hardik Pandya, who scored 83 (66) and took two crucial wickets got the ‘Man of the Match’ award. Former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni also played a crucial role in India’s victory. He made 79 runs off 88 balls to help Men in Blue to a comfortable win over Kangaroos in the rain-curtailed match.

Praising the star performer, skipper Kohli said that Hardik Pandya’s blistering half-century at a crucial stage was the game-changer for India in the first ODI of the five-match series against Australia.

Chasing the target, Australia did not have the best of starts and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The young wrist spinners -- Kuldeep Yadav (2/33) and Yuzvendra Chahal (3/30) ran through the middle and lower order as India took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

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