On the opening day of the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, even though Australia had periods of counterattack, it was not enough to stop India's relentless attack. They were bowled out for just 177, with Ravindra Jadeja scoring 5/47.
By the end of the day, India, led by Rohit Sharma's 56 points, had further strengthened their position. The Indian captain started the innings with a string of boundaries by making use of a lot of loose deliveries from his opposite number, Pat Cummins. It made it possible for his partner KL Rahul to adjust as well. Even in the face of the two offspinners, the duo was able to maintain that momentum. Toward the end of the day, Rohit scored his 15th Test fifty, but Australia responded with Todd Murphy's return catch of KL Rahul on 20, putting an end to a 76-run first stand.
Rohit and nightwatchman R Ashwin stopped the rest of the deliveries to ensure that Jadeja's efforts with the ball did not go to waste and to put India in a strong position to win.
Prior to Jadeja's comeback game, an earlier 82-run partnership between Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne (49) kept India at bay for a significant portion of the first session.
Before trapping Matt Renshaw LBW with the batter playing all over a ball turning in, he first had Lauschagne overbalance while trying to drive and had him stumped. Steve Smith launched a brief counterattack, scoring three boundaries off Axar Patel in an over, but was soon swallowed by Jadeja, who hit him on the inside edge with a straighter shot and bowled him.
However, a resolute Peter Handscomb and an aggressive Alex Carey stopped the slide once more. In his 33-ball 36, Carey hit a variety of reverse sweeps, sweeps, and drives, scoring seven boundaries. However, the shot also proved to be his downfall as he dragged R Ashwin on for his 450th wicket in a Test.
As the innings progressed, Ashwin found his rhythm and skillfully set up Pat Cummins, who was caught at slip, before Jadeja caught Todd Murphy, a debutant, LBW, for a duck. They lost six wickets for 98 runs in the session, a significant drop from how they had started the session.
Australia lost their openers quickly to India's fast bowlers despite choosing to bat. When Mohammad Siraj hit Usman Khawaja with a full ball on the front pad, he scored with his first pitch, and the reviewer ruled that Khawaja had been hit LBW. This was followed quickly by David Warner's wicket, when the batter missed a Mohammed Shami delivery that was nipping in and lost his off stump.
On the much-hyped dry surface, Australia's challenge appeared to be slipping away at 2/2 without a spinner bowled ball. In the first session, the most noticeable factor was the low bounce. Even though the spinners eventually got some turn, Australia's two best batters were well-equipped to deal with it.
Smith was silenced for 26 balls on 6 when Labuschagne started his innings at a high tempo and hit a couple of boundaries. Smith was at his sharpest during this time, winning a few matches but also losing to Axar Patel only to be caught by Virat Kohli at slip. He broke out of that rut by chipping Ravindra Jadeja over midwicket for a boundary before the pair got more used to playing against spin.
Despite a few close shaves off the inside edge, both batters were able to keep the dangerous straight ones out while playing primarily off the backfoot. However, in the midst of all of this, the duo was able to maintain their odd boundaries. In the session, Labuschagne made eight of them to remain unbeaten on 47. He even got an early advantage over R Ashwin, who he paddled away for a boundary, as Australia fought back but fell again.
0 Comments