There was pace, bounce, movement and the Australian bowlers made full use of the conditions. Be it Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood or even Pat Cummins to a certain extent, every Australian pace bowler was right on the money. They made the India and their batters dance to their tunes.
India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and opted to bat first on a greenish pitch at the Optus Stadium in Perth. India were under the pump right from the first over.
The first ball flew down leg and ran away for four byes. But apart from that ball, Starc tested Yashasvi Jaiswal on every ball of that first over. Hazlewood started beautifully from the other end as well as he went past KL Rahul’s edge a couple of times.
Starc gave Australia the first breakthrough as he dished out a nice full outswinger as Jaiswal went for the big drive and edged it to gully where debutant Nathan McSweeney took a good catch. That brought Devudtt Padikkal to the crease. He looked under pressure and just couldn’t get going.
On the other hand, as he spent more time at the crease, Rahul looked more assured and got the scoreboard ticking. However, Padikkal was deserted at his end. He couldn’t even get away balls on leg-stump and eventually nicked off as Hazlewood got his first wicket in the first over of his second spell.
Kohli’s poor form continues as India slip further
India were reduced to 14/2 in 11 overs when Virat Kohli walked out. The former India captain looked nervy from the get-go. He was batting outside his crease, looking to get on the front foot and bat on ball on almost every ball.
Kohli got a leading edge on the second ball he faced but he drove one down the ground for three. Hazlewood exploited Kohli’s eagerness and got one to kick up off the length. Kohli edged that rising delivery to first slip and Usman Khawaja took an easy catch. His poor form in Test cricket continued as he failed to go past the 20-run mark for the fifth successive innings.
Rishabh Pant strode out with India reeling at 32/3 in the 17th over. Even though there were a few plays and misses, Rahul was looking confident and had struck a couple of nice boundaries before Kohli’s dismissal. He was leaving and defending the ball well.
However, Starc broke through just before lunch in what was a controversial decision. The Australian left-arm fast bowler got one to nip away which Rahul missed. There was a massive appeal on the field and Pat Cummins signalled the review straightaway.
The Snicko definitely showed a spike. However, the replay angles were unclear and there was no conclusive evidence if Rahul edged the ball as his bat even hit the pad.
The third umpire Richard Illingworth ruled it in favour of the Aussies and overturned the decision despite not having conclusive evidence. Rahul was not pleased with the call as he was seen having a word with the on-field umpires before walking off.
Dhruv Jurel came in and played 10 balls as India went in at 51/4 at lunch. There were multiple plays and misses as all the Aussie pacers were superb with their lines and lengths.
Australia have landed the early punches in the first Test. India are on the backfoot. They need Pant, Jurel and the rest of the lower order to contribute and take India to a competitive total.
