New Delhi: Things surely didn’t go as planned for India and Australia as the two nations locked horns on Day 1 (Friday) of the first Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The series opener of the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy doesn’t look to last very long as the seamers of either sides wreaked havoc on a spicy pitch at the Perth Stadium. Although it was fortunate that there wasn’t any batting collapse but the low innings total shall be credited to the pacers.
Some considerable movement was expected on the first morning which indeed turned out to be the case – till the very end of the day. It didn’t matter if the ball was new or semi-new and even the pitch seemed to quicken up as the day passed on. The first day in Perth was a record-breaking affair because as many as 17 wickets fell, which is the most number of wickets on the first day in Australia since 1952.
It is noteworthy that all of these 17 wickets were picked by the pacers who feasted on a juicy track in Perth, breaking the 72 year old record.
That’s Stumps on what was an engrossing Day 1 of the 1st #AUSvIND Test!
7⃣ wickets in the Final Session for #TeamIndia! 👌👌
4⃣ wickets for Captain Jasprit Bumrah
2⃣ wickets for Mohammed Siraj
1⃣ wicket for debutant Harshit Rana
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/gTqS3UPruo pic.twitter.com/1Mbb6F6B2c
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 22, 2024
Sub-par performances
In what could be deemed as a risky call, stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah elected to bat first after winning the toss. The Australian pacers were at their best as they reduced the visitors to 47/4 in 22.2 overs, eventually bowling them out for 150.
Courtesy of some attacking batting from Rishabh Pant and Nitish Reddy, the batters added 48 runs for the seventh wicket which was the highest partnership for India on the day. Josh Hazlewood shone for Australia picking a four-fer while Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Marsh picked two wickets each.
In response, skipper Bumrah came out of the pavilion breathing fire with the new ball as he bowled a spell worth remembering. The top-order of Australia didn’t seem to stand a chance against him and they didn’t get much of a breathing space afterward as Harshit Rana and Mohammed Siraj weighed in, exploiting the conditions quite well.
Bumrah claimed four wickets while Mohammed Siraj picked two, and debutant Harshit Rana managed one. Somehow, India ended the day being on top as Australia could muster 67/7 in 27 overs before stumps were called. Australia currently trail India by 83 runs.
The Indian and Australian seamers were on a roll on the first day of the Test series opener in Perth, making it a record breaking day for Australian Test cricket since 72 years. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
