Perth Test: Indian, Australian pacers dominate on low-scoring Day 1
Batters across both camps had a hard time on Day 1 of the opening Test between India and Australia at Perth's Optus Stadium. After bundling out the Indian unit for just 150, the hosts finished the day at 67/7. It must be noted that stand-in Indian skipper Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and elected to bat first. Here is the day report.
Poor show from Indian batters
India were off to a disastrous start with top-order batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal bagging ducks. Virat Kohli (5), Dhruv Jurel (11), and Washington Sundar (4) also failed to impress. KL Rahul (26) showcased resilience before being dismissed controversially. Rishabh Pant (37) and debutant Nitish Reddy (41) added 48 runs before the former was dismissed. Reddy went down as the last batter.
How did the Aussie bowlers fare?
Josh Hazlewood was the pick of the bowlers, having scalped 4/29 across 13 overs. His partner-in-crime Mitchell Starc dismissed two batters, conceding just 14 runs across 11 overs. Skipper Pat Cummins took two wickets late in the innings, claiming 2/27 in 15.4 overs. All-rounder Mitchell Marsh claimed two wickets in just five overs, conceding 12 runs. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon bowled five wicket-less overs.
Hazlewood gets to this feat
Hazlewood broke Brett Lee's record to become Australia's most successful pacer in Test matches against India. He has overall raced to 56 scalps across 16 Tests against the team at 25.50. The veteran pacer has now raced to 277 wickets from 71 Test matches, averaging 24.57 runs per wicket (5W: 12). He owns 166 Test wickets from 40 home Tests at 22.67.
Starc completes 50 Test wickets vs India
Starc became the eighth Aussie bowler to complete 50 Test scalps vs India. Playing his 19th Test against India, Starc has scalped 50 wickets at 37-plus. Starc's record in home Tests is phenomenal, having picked 219 wickets in 51 matches at an average of 26-plus. Overall, he has picked 360 Test wickets at an average of 27-plus (5W: 14).
Rahul completes 3,000 runs in Test cricket
Rahul, who opened the innings for India, was out controversially for 26 runs. He faced 74 balls. However, during his stay, the batter completed 7,000 runs in FC cricket, including 3,000 in Tests. Playing his 54th match, Rahul has gone past 3,000 runs (3,007) from 92 innings, as per ESPNcricinfo. He averages 33.78 with 15 fifties and 8 tons under his belt.
2,000 WTC runs for Pant
Pant scored a vital 37 in India's score of 150. He was dismissed by pacer Pat Cummins. During the course, he became the 3rd Indian batter with 2,000-plus runs in ICC World Test Championship history. He has raced to 2,034 runs in the tournament at 42.37. Overall, Pant has raced to a tally of 2,730 Test runs at 44.03.
Poor start by Australia
Responding to India's paltry total, Australia also faltered. The side was reduced to 38/5 as Jasprit Bumrah picked up three early scalps. Debutant Harshit Rana gave India a much-needed breakthrough by sending back Travis Head, who had been Australia's most consistent performer across formats. Mohammed Siraj also took two wickets before Bumrah took his fourth. Alex Carey (19*) and Starc (6*) returned unbeaten.
Australia script this unwanted record
As per Cricbuzz, this was only the second instance of Australia losing their first five wickets in an innings of a home Test before the score reaching 40 since 1980. The other instance came against South Africa in Hobart in 2016. They were reduced to 17/5 in that game.
Captain Bumrah shines with the ball
Bumrah was nothing but lethal on the day as he claimed four wickets, conceding just 17 runs across 10 overs. Siraj, who took two wickets, gave away 17 runs in nine overs. Debutant Rana was the only other Indian bowler used in the day. He returned with 1/33 in eight overs.
17 wickets fell in the day
A total of 17 wickets fell, which is the most number of wickets on the opening day of a Test in Australia since 1952, as per Cricbuzz. Each of these 17 wickets were taken by seamers with Bumrah and Hazlewood dismissing four batters apiece.
