NEW DELHI: The 2024-25 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy got off to an exhilarating start at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Friday as pacers wreaked havoc on a blockbuster 17-wicket day. The batters from both sides were brought down to their knees as Australia and India quicks turned out to be lethal on Day 1 of the series opener in front of a capacity crowd.
Seventeen wickets, all picked by pacers, is the most on the opening day of a Test in Australia since 1952. Yes, 1952!
After the experienced Australian trio of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc reigned supreme and shot down India for 150 in their first innings, the hosts’ batters danced to the tunes of Jasprit Bumrah and Co. and ended the day at 67/7, still 83 runs behind India.
On a pacy and bouncy pitch, the batters from both teams looked clueless and it was India debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy who top-scored with a counter-attacking 41. Here’s a quick recap of the fast-moving day in Perth:
The toss disadvantage
A spicy strip was on offer but stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah surprisingly won the toss and chose to bat. After the bold call was made, the top order-was expected to see off the new ball but the Aussie pacers just ran through the Indian batting order.
While youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal (8-ball duck) and debutant Devdutt Padikkal (0 off 23) disappointed at the top, Virat Kohli’s poor run continued as he was dismissed for just 5. KL Rahul got unlucky after fighting it out in the middle and India went to Lunch in all sorts of trouble at 51 for 4.
After the break as well, the Aussie quicks continued with their assault as Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar fell in quick succession. Rishabh Pant and debutant Nitish Reddy did offer some resistance but India eventually folded for 150 inside 50 overs.
Relentless Aussie trio
Making the most of the conditions on offer, the trio of Cummins, Hazlewood and Starc were nearly unplayable in the morning and gave nothing away. The extra bounce stunned quite a few India batters but the line and length at which the Aussie trio bowled was simply sensational.
All the Aussie quicks were just immaculate with their bowling, as they probed the India batters in that corridor of uncertainty. The tentative India batters, unsure of whether to play the ball off the front foot or back, succumbed to the quality bowling.
While Hazlewood turned out to be the star, registering figures of 13-5-29-4, Starc, Cummins and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh too bagged a couple of wickets each, bundling India out for a lowly 150.
The counter-attack
Five of the top 9 batters in the Indian line-up registered single-digit scores as the Aussie quicks gave nothing away. KL Rahul did offer some resistance during his 26-run knock but was sent back after a controversial call late in the first session.
After the setbacks, swashbuckling Rishabh Pant and debutant Nitish Reddy turned out to be the bright spots in the otherwise disappointing show as they took the attack to the Australian bowlers despite India being pinned down.
Playing his natural game to perfection, a fearless Pant mixed caution with aggression during his 37-run knock. Debutant Reddy too showed fight lower down the order as his 41 off 59 balls took India to 150.
Boom, Boom Bumrah
After the capitulation of the Indian batting order, it was time for the Australian batters to face the music and the India quicks didn’t disappoint.
Skipper Bumrah set the tone right from the word go as he rattled the hosts’ top-order with a three-wicket burst.
After trapping debutant Nathan McSweeney in front in the third over, the India skipper got rid of Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith off consecutive balls to put Australia on the mat.
Showing his precision, Bumrah fired in thunderbolts at the Aussie batters as the hosts found themselves in all sorts of troubles in the final session. Bumrah then returned late and got rid of his opposite number Pat Cummins to finish with superb figures of 4 for 17.
Rana impresses on debut
Harshit Rana had made the right noises before the start of the series as he looked in top form in the nets and looked set to make his Test debut in Perth.
After India were folded for 150, bowlers had to play a big role and the onus was on Rana to play his part. The youngster didn’t disappoint in his first outing in Indian whites as he bowled a peach to get rid of Travis Head and bowled with a lot of heart to keep the hosts under pressure.
The 22-year-old picked the big wicket of Head and played the third seamer’s role to perfection alongside Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. While Bumrah finished the day with a four-for, Siraj grabbed a couple of wickets. Rana ended the day with figures of 8-1-33-1.
