Shubman Gill ’s first outing as India’s ODI captain ended in a frustrating defeat as Australia cruised to a seven-wicket victory in the series opener in Perth. Gill, following in the footsteps of Virat Kohli , now joins an unwanted record of Indian captains losing their first match in charge across formats. Despite rain interruptions and a truncated 26-over innings, India’s top order faltered early, leaving the new captain with a difficult chase. Australia, winning the toss and electing to field, restricted India to 136 for nine. KL Rahul was the lone bright spot, scoring a quickfire 38 off 31 balls and forging vital partnerships with Axar Patel (31) and Washington Sundar (10) to stabilise the innings after the top three, Rohit Sharma (8), Gill (10), and Virat Kohli (0

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