Kohli, Rohit misfire as India labour to 136/9 in rain-hit first ODI against Australia
Perth (PTI): The grand comeback party of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma lasted just 22 balls combined, and their lowkey appearance reflected in India's underwhelming 136 for nine against Australia in the rain-affected first ODI here on Sunday.
If the constant rain breaks, which reduced the game to a 26-over-a-side affair, were not enough, India struggled to find any sort of momentum, except when KL Rahul (38, 30 balls) was in the middle.
Australia understandably chose to bowl first under grey skies, and the extra bounce on the Optus Stadium pitch also assisted them copiously.
Rohit (8) walked onto the pitch alongside new captain Shubman Gill to loud cheers from the Perth crowd, but he stayed in the middle for just 14 balls.
Rohit played a sumptuous straight drive off Mitchell Starc, a quick time ride back to the glory days. But that was that for the day for him, as Josh Hazlewood's ability to find steep bounce from the quarter length ended his tenure.
The ever-rising ball kissed the sticker of his bat and travelled to debutant Matthew Renshaw at second slip.
Kohli walked into the daunting stadium with even louder cheer, but the familiar ODI greatness was nowhere to be seen.
If anything, a habitual prod outside the off-stump off Starc revealed that the age-old weakness still persists.
It eventually consumed him. A drive on the up off the left-arm pacer took the edge of his bat and Cooper Connolly at backward point snaffled a wonderful catch to curtail Kohli's agonising eight-ball innings.
It was Kohli's first duck in Australia. The veterans need something substantial in the subsequent ODIs at Adelaide and Sydney to prove that they have the fire in them for a longer journey.
Unlike his senior colleagues, Gill looked assured but a rather casual attempt to flick Nathan Ellis resulted in a down the leg side catch to wicketkeeper Josh Philippe.
Shreyas Iyer, who played a marvellous square cut off Hazlewood to find the ropes, perished in the same way.
Hazlewood strangled him for space with another bouncer that he featured to Philippe as India slid to 45 for four in the 14th over. Finally, India found their wheels moving through the 39-run fifth-wicket alliance between Axar Patel (31) and Rahul before the former fell to spinner Matthew Kuhnemann.
Rahul was quite impressive in his knock, dealing with the bounce getting over the ball nicely. The straight drive and pull off Ellis off successive balls for fours were an absolute treat.
Rahul slipped into overdrive once spinners were introduced, and slammed Matthew Short for two successive sixes.
Rahul and Washington Sundar added 30 runs for the sixth wicket but the limited number of overs affected India's acceleration in the backend.
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Regulator DGCA eases flight duty norms for pilots amid IndiGo crisis
Mumbai (PTI): Aviation watchdog DGCA on Friday eased the flight duty norms by allowing substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period amid massive operational disruptions at IndiGo, according to sources.
As per the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, "no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest", which means that weekly rest period and leaves are to be treated separately. The clause was part of efforts to address fatigue issues among the pilots.
Citing IndiGo flight disruptions, sources told PTI that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has decided to withdraw the provision 'no leave shall be substituted for weekly rest' from the FDTL norms.
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"In view of the ongoing operational disruptions and representations received from various airlines regarding the need to ensure continuity and stability of operations, it has been considered necessary to review the said provision," DGCA said in a communication dated December 5.
The gaps in planning ahead of the implementation of the revised FDTL, the second phase of which came into force from November 1, have resulted in crew shortage at IndiGo and is one of the key reasons for the current disruptions.
#BREAKING: #DGCA relaxes a clause which debarred airlines to club leaves with weekly rest to mitigate #IndiGo crisis
— Economic Times (@EconomicTimes) December 5, 2025
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