Steve Smith’s ominously flowing centenary captaincy of Aaron Finch led Australia to a comfortable 66-run win in the ODI series opener against India.
Smith (105), Finch (114), David Warner (69) and Glenn Maxwell (45) dismantled and demoralized the visiting attack at SCG, where the hosts stormed to a total of 374-6, partly thanks to sloppy fields.
Shikhar Dhawan, who was responsible for arguably the most expensive and valuable mistake in the field, and Mayank Agarwal shot India 53-0 after five overs.
Virat Kohli extended Friday’s fun start to the chase with a flurry of boundaries, but tossed Finch a catch on the 21st as the tourists tumbled to 104-4 on the 14th.
Dhawan (74) and Hardik Pandya (90) gave their supporters hope of a miracle, while Adam Zampa finished with numbers 4-54.
The tourists ended well with Marcus Stoinis’ side injury on 308-8, dropping catches that made Kohli, Dhawan and Pandya among Australia’s only worries.
The game ended late at 11:09 p.m. local time. Protesting pitch invaders were responsible for a tiny fraction of the longer delays.
Kohli will regret the ease with which Australia took control after winning the litter, the missing fields he and his teammates had, and their lack of composure with the pasture.
It is undoubtedly Smith’s freestyling start to summer – which could easily have ended on the 38th without the batsman’s successful review on the 13th and Dhawan’s borderline schoolboy mistake – that will worry him most.
The fight within the fight between Smith and Kohli, widely regarded as the top two batsmen in the world, was a one-sided affair in the opening round.
Smith’s previous summer home was below his high standards while worried during a recent tour of England and then never really got going during the last Indian Premier League.
But the 31-year-old, who happily announced earlier this week that he “found” his hands, generally produces his best in large series.
Setting the bar high at the start of a long tour that ended with four tests, Smith received a pat on the back from Kohli as he raced to 50 in 36 deliveries and then hit three numbers in just 62 balls.
Maxwell and James Faulkner are the only Australians who registered an ODI ton faster.
It was an emotional century, as it was for Finch on the sixth anniversary of the death of her good pal Phillip Hughes.
Finch, who shared a 156-year partnership with Warner and a 108-year booth with Smith, and Maxwell also found shape after quiet IPL campaigns.
Smith, who was interviewed by the network after 40 overs with Australia sitting nicely at 264-2, made it clear that he was aiming for a total of “somewhere around 370”.
Maxwell’s bold 19-ball cameo, which culminated in an inverted six-on-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, ensured Smith’s prediction was on the money.
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