Nitish Kumar earns maiden ODI cap vs Australia

• Australia chose to bowl first, citing a good wicket at Perth Stadium.
• Nitish Reddy debuts for India; India fields 3 fast bowlers, 3 all-rounders.
• Perth pitch favors fast bowlers; chasing teams have won 2 of 3 ODIs there.

IND vs AUS Toss, Playing 11 Update for 1st ODI: Australia captain Mitchell Marsh opted to bowl first after winning the toss against India at the Perth

Stadium in Perth on September 19, 2025 (Sunday).

After winning the toss, Mitchell Marsh said: We are going to bowl first. Looks like a pretty good wicket. Hopefully it's fast. It's always a huge honour leading your country. Hope we get off to a good start. The morale is great. We have some good young players. Seven batters, one wicketkeeper and four bowlers.

Meanwhile India captain Shubman Gill said: We would have bowled first as well. It's all about getting mentally ready. We are in a good mental place. The practice sessions help. We have a great combination. Nitish Reddy makes his debut, we are going with three fast bowlers and three all-rounders.

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.

Australia (Playing XI): Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh(c), Matthew Short, Josh Philippe(w), Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood.

IND vs AUS Pitch Report

Optus Stadium in Perth has witnessed just three ODIs so far, with chasing sides emerging victorious on two occasions. The pitch traditionally aids fast bowlers, providing extra pace and bounce that can test batters in the early overs. With an average first-innings total of around 183 and the highest successful chase being only 153, batting here demands discipline and careful shot selection before taking any risks on what can be a tricky surface.

IND vs AUS 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.