Adam Zampa dropped two catches in two balls off his own bowling as Australia slumped to their fourth-straight ODI loss, going down to India by five wickets in the first match in their three-game series.
It's the first time India has beaten Australia in Mohali in 27 years.
Sent in by stand-in India captain KL Rahul, the Aussies lost Mitchell Marsh in the first over before David Warner (52) and Steve Smith (41) combined for a 94-run second wicket stand.
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They both fell in relatively quick succession before Marnus Labuschagne (39), Cameron Green (31) and Josh Inglis (45) all joined them in getting starts.
Marcus Stoinis chipped in too with 29, but Australia lost their last five wickets in the last four overs of their innings for only 28 to be bowled out for 276.
And it could have been worse for the tourists – Warner was given a huge reprieve on 14 when Shreyas Iyer dropped a straightforward catch at mid-off, and Suryakumar Yadav botched an easy runout that should have had Labuschagne back in the sheds for 11.
Cameron Green's runout is also proof the middle order partnerships still need to form.
In reply, Indian openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shubman Gill put on 142 for the first wicket before Australia took 3-9 in 21 balls to claw themselves back into the contest.
Zampa was first to break through when he trapped Gaikwad in front for 71, before a sharp piece of fielding from Green had Shreyas Iyer run out for 3.
When a beautiful Zampa top spinner ripped through Gill, the Aussies were up and about.
But the two dropped catches in the 28th over would prove costly for the tourists.
The first was less than a half-chance as Ishan Kishan crunched one back at the legspinner. He got a hand to it and Kishan and KL Rahul would scamper through for a single.
With the very next ball, Rahul spooned another top spinner back to Zampa, who looked as though he might have misjudged the pace and grassed the chance.
"That's a sitter," former Aussie opener Matthew Hayden said in commentary.
Rahul would go on to make a match-winning 58.
Pat Cummins eventually had Kishan caught behind for 18, but that only brought Suryakumar Yadav to the crease.
He and Rahul steadied the ship and put on 80 for the fifth wicket, and by the time Sean Abbott had Yadav caught flicking one off his pads to Mitch Marsh in the deep, the equation was down to just 12 from the final 21 balls.
Rahul sealed the win with a massive six off Abbott over long off.
"Disappointed we didn't get over the line, but I thought a few of the guys batted well, and a few of the guys bowled well," Pat Cummins said in the post-match presentation.
"No doubt we've got one eye on the big tournament coming up, but you want to get in a good rhythm here, and you want to start setting your standards so they get drilled in."
Yadav said his involvement in a match-winning partnership for his country was a lifelong dream.
"That's what I was dreaming of when I started playing this format, try bat to the end and finish the job for the team," he said after the match.
"I'm loving my new role."
The series is the final pre-World Cup warm up for both sides, who will also play each other in their first World Cup matches on October 8.
The second ODI of the series is on Sunday night AEST.
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