On dramatic Day 1, captain Bumrah stars with 4-wicket haul to leave Oz gasping for air as India fight fire with fire after being bowled out for 150; hosts reeling at 67/7
India captain Jasprit Bumrah showed ample evidence of the endless spirit in his heart and the freakish skill in his bowling bones as he brutalized Australia with his initial spell of 6-2-9-3. With the shadows of the stands engulfing Perth’s Optus Stadium, he even returned later on Day One to dismiss his opposite number, Pat Cummins, to end the day with 4/17. It left the hosts reeling at 67/7. As many as 17 wickets fell on Friday, on a surface that offered liberal seam and bounce.
That was after Bumrah himself had made a questionable call at the toss of electing to bat on a grassy pitch where India got bundled out for 150 at the stroke of tea. Josh Hazlewood (4/29) and Mitchell Starc (2/14) suffocated the Indian batters by bowling a relentless line and length and Mitchell Marsh showed that his West Australian teammate Cam Green’s injury-forced absence wouldn’t affect Australia’s team balance.
Scorecard: India vs Australia, 1st Test
‘The Bison’, as Marsh is nicknamed for his broad shoulders, trundled in post lunch to send back Dhruv Jurel and Washington Sundar to offer the legendary pace trio of Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood a solid helping hand.
If the first two sessions were a setback for the Indians, the final session was all about their fightback, and it was Bumrah that made it possible. He dismissed debutant Nathan McSweeney LBW by bowling fuller and successfully reviewing a decision adjudged not out by Richard Kettleborough.
After a few unsuccessful overs from over the wicket to the stubborn Aussie lefthanded opener Usman Khawaja, Bumrah switched to round the stumps and opened Khawaja up to have him edging to Virat Kohli at second slip. Kohli, who had dropped Marnus Labuschagne off the second ball that the batter faced, made no mistake this time.
The next ball, Bumrah dismissed India’s perennial nemesis Steve Smith LBW when the batter indulged in his customary shuffle to meet the ball, but the 140.5 kmph thunderbolt seamed in sharply, skidded and struck him plumb in front. Harshit Rana, who was one of the two debutants India fielded along with Nitish Kumar Reddy, then castled the tormentor of India’s dreams in global events, Travis Head. Rana’s wobble seam delivery in the high 130s from round the stumps came in with the angle, hit the seam and moved 1.36 degrees away after pitching. Head had no chance in hell playing that one, especially sans footwork.
Mohammed Siraj, bowling with better rhythm than he has shown in the past six weeks, played his part too, sending back Mitchell Marsh and Marnus Labuschagne after a painful 52-ball stay in which the Queenslander managed just two. In terms of turnarounds in moods and fortunes, this was as emphatic as it could get after Indian batters once again floundered to be dismissed in 49.4 overs, giving catching practice to men behind the sticks.
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Nine of them perished to catches in the slips or the ‘keeper. Starc first accounted for Yashasvi Jaiswal as the batter did exactly what one is told not to do at Perth, drive on the rise, loosely. He was caught by McSweeney in the gully. Devdutt Padikkal, who was roped in as a makeshift No. 3 to replace the injured Shubman Gill, was nicked off by the metronomic Josh Hazlewood for a 23-ball duck.
Virat Kohli walked in at 2-14 and employed an aggressive forward press technique with interception points earlier than all his previous outings. But Hazlewood got one to lift from a length to devour the Indian star for another single digit score.
The much maligned and heavily trolled KL Rahul ironically looked the best batter on view as he defended stoutly and left judiciously. His controversial caught behind for 26 off Starc sunk India’s hopes of going into lunch just three down. Rishabh Pant (37) and Nitish Kumar Reddy counterattacked for an entertaining 48-run stand, with Pant’s falling scoop off Cummins over fine leg for six making it to the few batting highlights of a day dominated by bowlers.
Both were enterprising against offspinner Nathan Lyon, hitting him out of the attack. Cummins, though, dismissed both close to tea. The Aussie skipper, however, would be disappointed with his returns of 67 from 15.4 on a pitch that offered so much help.
He would also be annoyed at not reviewing a caught-behind appeal of Reddy off Starc when the debutant was still new to the wicket, as his 41 could prove decisive in a Test that is low-scoring and fast-moving.
