WATCH | India v/s Australia, 1st ODI: MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya put on counter-attacking partnership for the ages

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Hardik Pandya shared a crucial century-run partnership to help India post a decent target of 282 runs for Australia in the opening ODI of the five-match series in Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.

Opting to bat first, India made what could be termed as the worst start to their innings, losing their first three wickets of just 11 runs. Though opener Rohit Shrama (28) and Kedar Jadhav (40) tried to find their feet slowly, it seemed that the pitch was assisting the Australian pacers.

However, India rode on contrasting half centuries from all-rounder Pandya (83) and former skipper Dhoni (79) to help India recover from a precarious 87-5 and post a score of 281-7 in their stipulated 50 overs against the Steve Smith-led side.

It was Pandya’s career-best ODI score, surpassing his previous best figures of 76, which he notched up against Pakistan in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy final in England earlier this year. Meanwhile, Dhoni, who also struck four boundaries and two sixes in his 75-ball knock, also forged another healthy 72-run seventh wicket stand with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (unbeaten at 32) after the loss of Pandya.

For Australia, pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile …read more