3 reasons India lost 2025 ODI series against Australia

Overview

• India lost the first ODI in Perth due to a rain-affected game and failed to defend 265 in the second ODI in Adelaide, ultimately losing the series against Australia
• Key Indian batters like Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill could not score runs in both ODIs
• The team combination wasn't great either, and the bowling attack lacked the venom

India lost the first ODI in Perth due to a rain-affected game and failed to defend 265 in the second ODI in Adelaide, ultimately losing the series against Australia. While the first ODI was complex, as the surface got better to bat on after the rain stopped, the second ODI had a mediocre performance from the visiting side for the most part.

With one more match to go at the Sydney Cricket Ground, India has no chance of winning the series. Hence, the third and final match in Sydney will have no bearing on the series result. However, India would love to test some of its players, given the series is practically over for them.

3 reasons India lost the 2025 ODI series against Australia

Team Combination

India's team combination was rather questionable in both matches. A lot of it had to do with the absence of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, two of India's key players. That left India with no option but to play two spin bowling All-rounders. India ended up not playing Prasidh Krishna in the first two ODIs either, given their team combination.

Having two spin-bowling All-rounders meant no place for a genuine spinner like Kuldeep Yadav, who was the most experienced bowler in the Indian attack. However, India played with yet another All-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy, who hardly bowled in the first two matches. Reddy was underutilized, and a genuine bowler could have played instead of him. 

Lack of venom in the bowling attack

In the absence of Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, the Indian attack was bound to be under struggle. However, the fact that Kuldeep wasn't in the XI and only three proper bowlers were picked meant India's bowling attack did not seem threatening on paper. Along with that, India's playing XI did not have a proper fourth bowler who could threaten the batters of the opposition.

Compared to India, Australia played three genuine pacers and a world-class spinner, which probably made the difference in both ODIs. The attack of Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, and Nitish Kumar Reddy was not a match for Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Ellis/Bartlett, and Adam Zampa.

Poor form of key batters

Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, two of India's best ODI batters currently, had two poor outings in the ODI series against Australia. In the first ODI, Gill scored 10(18), while Virat registered an 8-ball duck. Things were much worse in the second ODI, where Gill made 9(9) while Kohli registered a 4-ball duck.

Without two of the key batters making any difference to the eventual total, India was not going to win the series. While the conditions were not easy to bat on in both matches, one would expect the batters of Virat and Gill's caliber to perform well at least once on two occasions. Unfortunately, it wasn't the case, which cost India big time.