India vs Australia, 1st ODI: Five reasons why visitors lost the encounter

New Delhi: Even after putting up a challenging score of 309 runs on the board, MS Dhoni's side failed to defend the total and lost the opening encounter of the five-match series by five wickets.

Here are the five possible reasons why the visitors ended up losing the match at the WACA ground in Perth.

Batting track: WACA turned out to be a placid track, where there was no assistance for the bowlers. And when the hosts came out to bat, they comfortably achieved the target even after losing their openers in David Warner and Aaron Finch quite cheaply.

Smith-Bailey record partnership: Steven Smith and George Bailey added 242 runs for the third wicket to push Australia towards an easy win. Their massive partnership was the highlight of the match and cost India dearly.

Absence of Mohammed Shami: MS Dhoni missed his premier fast bowler Mohammed Shami who returned back from the tour due to lack of fitness. His wicket-taking ability and experience could have helped Indians win the match. Though debutant Barinder Sran did manage to give India a good start with the ball, other bowlers squandered the opportunity to push the Aussies on the back foot.

Lack of aggression: Even after having a 309-run total on the board, Indian skipper MS Dhoni didn't attack the way he should have. Veteran batsman George Bailey and skipper Steven Smith took full advantage of it as the duo kept the scoreboard ticking by pushing for singles and doubles to keep the momentum going.

Short of 20-30 runs: Considering the nature of the surface, India's target of 309 looked 20 to 30 runs short. Though, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's 207-run stand gave the middle-order batsmen a solid platform to accelerate in the end, they somehow couldn't manage to give India a blistering finish.