NEW DELHI: On the opening day of the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Perth, an unprecedented 17 wickets fell, giving the blockbuster series a chaotic start.
With the quicks wreaking havoc on a grassy and bouncy Optus Stadium track, batters looked clueless and helpless but Australian senior pacer Mitchell Starc defended the spicy pitch, saying that the batting will get better as the game progresses.
“I think there was a fair bit of good bowling today. Obviously there was enough in the wicket and it probably felt like it was a hardball wicket,” Starc said in the press conference after Day 1.
“When the ball started to get a little bit softer towards the back end of that Indian innings, it probably didn’t do as much. (There was) still enough there, but it didn’t do as much as the brand new hardball.
“So I guess that’s something for teams to take in the second innings.
“If you can get through the testing period, it does get slightly easier. That being said, the outfield is quite slow, so that probably made runs a bit hard to come by. That’s probably the slowest outfield we’ve seen in the west for a long time.”
While Starc gave the first breakthrough, his partner Josh Hazlewood proved to be more lethal, returning with excellent figures of 4/29 in 13 overs before the peerless Jasprit Bumrah (4/17 in 10 overs) yet again displayed his extraordinary skills.
Starc asserted that batting conditions were not becoming harder across Australia and the bowlers had to be credited for their top-class performances.
“How many ways can you skin a cat? Bowlers are allowed to bowl good balls,” he said.
“When there’s a lot of runs, it’s like, ‘Oh, the bowlers bowled badly. When there’s wickets, the wickets are tough’. (But) you are allowed to bowl good balls and maybe credit should go to both teams and bowlers.
“Sure, there’s plenty in the wicket when you put it in the right area and it was hard work for batting, but as I said, you’re allowed to bowl good balls and there were plenty of those today.”
Starc also played down the chatter around KL Rahul‘s contentious caught-behind dismissal, saying it was a ‘regulation wicket’.
Rahul’s dismissal kicked up a controversy with former players from both the countries questioning the third umpire’s decision to overturn the on-field official’s not out call.
After on-field umpire Richard Kettleborough ruled in Rahul’s favour following Australia’s appeal, the home team used DRS to challenge the decision.
Third umpire Richard Illingworth, however, overturned the call despite not having the benefit of a split-screen view which would have given him a clearer picture of whether the Starc delivery actually grazed the bat or the snicko responded to a hit on the pads.
“It got overturned obviously, but I thought it was regulation, the sound it made, the timing of it, I thought it was just a regulation wicket,” Starc said.
