The opening day of the primary Take a look at between India and Australia on the Optus Stadium in Perth witnessed a dramatic show of quick bowling from each side, with 17 wickets falling in what turned out to be a bowlers’ paradise.
When Australia bundled India out for just 150 runs within the first two sessions, it seemed like we were nothing but seeing India’s horrible run in Test cricket. Coming on the back of a horrible Test series whitewash against another Oceania country, New Zealand, we were somewhat accustomed to witnessing Indian batters flounder. But, oh my! How the Indian bowling, led by Jasprit Bumrah, decimated the Aussie batters in front of a packed Perth crowd was heartening to see. The Indian team played like as if they have never lost a Test series in Australia since 2015!
Indian batters flop show continues
After losing the toss, Australian captain Pat Cummins’ disappointment turned to delight as his bowlers made the most of the conditions, bundling India out for just 150 runs in two sessions. The Indian innings got off to a disastrous start with Mitchell Starc removing Yashasvi Jaiswal for a duck. The struggles continued as debutant Devdutt Padikkal faced a baptism by fire, failing to open his account despite facing 23 deliveries before falling to Josh Hazlewood. The experienced Virat Kohli couldn’t stem the rot either, departing for a low score. Kohli had himself to blame as he was standing way out of the popping crease and extra bounce outdid the modern-day master.
Controversial KL Rahul dismissal
KL Rahul showed some resistance with a patient 26 off 74 balls before falling in controversial circumstances. It looked like he hit his bat with the pad but the ball went extremely close to his bat. Third umpire’s decision shocked him and other experts too. Mitchell Marsh’s introduction after lunch proved particularly effective, as he picked up two quick wickets in a five-over spell that left India reeling at 73/6.
Nitish Reddy-Rishabh Pant stand
A fighting partnership between Rishabh Pant and debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy provided some respite for India. The duo added 48 runs, with Reddy particularly aggressive against Nathan Lyon. However, Cummins broke the stand by dismissing Pant for 37, caught at second slip. He set up Pant with consistent outside off-stump deliveries and Pant got out. Reddy, meanwhile, continued to impress, top-scoring with 41 runs before being the last man dismissed. Just before that, he hit his IPL skipper Pat Cummins for a wondrous six. Watch it here. Josh Hazlewood was the pick of the Australian bowlers, returning figures of 4/29. Hazlewood continued to frustrate the Indian batters with his relentless disciplined bowling.
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Jasprit Bumrah – The GOAT!
Australia’s reply, however, was even more catastrophic. Indian fans feared that the hosts might script away the deficit within today. However, something special was stored in. Jasprit Bumrah, leading the Indian attack, made immediate inroads by removing debutant McSweeney after successfully reviewing an LBW decision. The situation could have been worse for Australia had Virat Kohli not dropped Marnus Labuschagne on zero. Bumrah continued his stellar spell, dismissing Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith in consecutive deliveries. The three early strikes uplifted the mood for the tourists, who were then roaring from the front. Meanwhile, debutant Harshit Rana impressed with the crucial wicket of Travis Head. Head hit him for two fours but Rana bowled an absolute peach to claim his maiden international wicket!
Siraj Miyan on Duty!
The Australian batting collapse reached historic proportions as they lost their first five wickets for just 38 runs – only the second such instance in home Tests since 1980. Labuschagne’s torturous innings of 2 runs off 52 balls, his lowest score after facing 50+ deliveries in Tests, ended at the hands of Mohammed Siraj. The day’s play culminated with Australia in dire straits at 59/7, with Bumrah adding Pat Cummins to his list of victims shortly before stumps.
With Australia still 83 runs short of India’s total, the tourists would be desperate to wrap up the Aussie innings as quickly as possible on Day 2.
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