India suffered a humiliating 10-wicket loss at the hands of Australia in the second fixture of the five-match BGT 2024-25 series. The game was a pink ball affair and took place at a day-night setting in Adelaide.
Australia were outright dominating from the first day, and their performance reminded the Indian team and the fans of the horrific game four years back at the same venue. In 2020, the Indian bowling unit were bundled out for their lowest-ever test total of 36, courtesy of exceptional performances from Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
Between these two day-night tests, India had the experience of playing with a pink ball twice. They secured a 10-wicket victory over England in 2021 and a 238-run win against Sri Lanka in 2022. A lack of experience with a pink ball and a potent bowling unit of the opposition certainly showed up for India in the Adelaide test.
This time, Mitchell Starc proved to be a wrecker-in-chief for the hosts, as he picked up six wickets in the first innings. Notably, he dismissed KL Rahul and Virat Kohli, with a ball that offered a little more bounce to the left-arm pacer.
Although, the day was bright and there was no issue of India batting during the twilight, the pressure of prevailing against the pink ball was clearly visible.
With the pink ball retaining its shine for a longer duration and Scott Boland being pitch-perfect with his line-length, he got the rewards in the form of wickets of Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. Importantly, Nitish Reddy showed no signs of regression with his approach, as he looked in total control with his ball-striking.
The second innings was a real litmus test for the Indian batters, as they were up against the Aussie pacers under twilight. This period generally offers more movement to the bowlers as the ball isn’t clearly visible and floodlight slowly starts to take over.
A bounceback was expected from the Indian batting unit akin to the Perth game; however, all hopes were dashed after India failed to apply themselves better under floodlights. The hosts were accurate with their good-lengths and forced the visitors to play shots at a surface, which certainly offered much assistance. Shubman Gill, who looked confident with his approach was cleaned up by Starc, with a ball that came back a long way.
India’s most experienced batters, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma looked clueless with their approach and failed to exude confidence into the side. As a result, India failed to live up to the promise after Perth’s victory and were thrashed by Australia.
Indian bowlers’ wayward lengths put Australia on frontfoot
After India were all-out for 180, the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj were expected to fire in unison like in the Perth test. It is pertinent to note that Bumrah was the only one who had the experience of playing a pink ball test, while Siraj and Harshit Rana were still playing their first day-night test.

However, Bumrah also failed to pose a strong challenge to the Australian batters in the first 10 overs. He finally induced an edge of Khawaja in the 11th over, but what followed after was not what was expected from the bowling unit.
As per ESPNcricinfo, 80 off the first 198 deliveries deliveries on the first day of Australia’s innings were left out. This certainly means that the Indian bowlers allowed the batters to settle down on the crease and steer the team on a comfortable note.
India failed to prepare themselves better in terms of finding their right line-lengths with the pink ball, which could help them secure breakthroughs under floodlights. This is where the hosts won the game and India will have nothing but regrets about not doing well during that period.
FAQs
Who has been the best bowler so far in BGT 2024-25?
Jasprit Bumrah – 12 wickets
What is Australia’s track record in pink ball tests?
12 wins in 13 games