The Indian team was certainly down and out in the first session of play in the Perth Test against Australia. The sensational spell of seam bowling resulted in the visitors beginning the second session on 51/4, with Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel at the crease.
Much was expected from Jurel, who was coming off an impressive performance against Australia A. The keeper-batter hit a couple of boundaries, but he did not look himself against Mitchell Marsh. The right-arm pacer induced an edge from Jurel (11) off his good-length ball, and Marnus Labuschagne plucked a fine catch at the slips.
Then, Washington Sundar displayed some resistance, while Pant tried to steer the team carefully. However, the local boy, Marsh got the ball to bounce at a little awkward length, which caught Sundar (4) unaware, as the southpaw was caught by keeper Alex Carey.
At this juncture, India were stuttering at 73/6 and never looked like they were in the game. With the surface offering pace and bounce, and the absence of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, the cricket fraternity and fans were not confident of India crossing the 100-run mark.
Nitish Reddy shines on debut; Rishabh Pant again emerges as saviour for India
The debutant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, who holds an average of around 21 in first-class cricket, arrived at No. 8 for India. His arrival was a turning point for the visitors, as things changed for good for them.
Pant used his feet to good use, and was looking to accumulate boundaries with his counter-attacking. In the 36th over, spinner Nathan Lyon was introduced into the attack, and Reddy charged against him and scored two boundaries.
In Lyon’s subsequent overs, Reddy employed reverse-sweep shots to send a couple of balls to the boundary, showcasing his rising confidence. At the non-striker end, Pant was certainly taking everything in stride, in pursuit of playing with a positive intent.
The 42nd over witnessed Pant stunning Pat Cummins and the Australian team with an outrageous scoop shot, that went for a six over the deep fine leg boundary.
However, Cummins broke the duo’s blossoming 48-run stand by getting rid of Pant (37) by getting him caught at the slips. Soon, Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne displayed a team effort to complete a brilliant catch off Harshit Rana (7).
Reddy (41) went on to emerge as the highest-scorer for the Indian team, before getting dismissed by Cummins. The tourists ended their innings on 150, with Josh Hazlewood emerging as the finest bowler with four scalps for Australia.
