IND vs AUS DAY 1: After losing the toss, India bundled up the visitors for just 177 runs in the first innings riding on Ravindra Jadeja’s five-for, and they’ve now cut the lead to just 100 runs with 9 wickets still in hand. The left-handed spin all-rounder returned to the Indian team after a long break, and in his first match back, he took 5 wickets and dismantled the visitors’ defense.
India had the upper hand just from the first ball of the match. The early success to Siraj and Mohammad Shami set the tone for India and India was successful to take wickets at regular intervals. We saw Ashwin’s game plan, Jadeja’s magical fingers, KS Bharat’s excellent debut behind the stumps, and last but not least, Rohit Sharma’s throttled innings on Day 1 of the first test in Nagpur.
Let’s take a brief review of Ind vs Aus Day 1 of the first test:
Ind vs Aus Day 1: Brief Review
The Day started with Australia winning the toss and that was one of the very few positives for Australia of the day. Australia batted first and Mohammad Siraj drew the first blood in his first over and soon Shami sent stumps flying off the ground dismissing David Warner. Steve Smith and Labuschagne then built a partnership of 82 runs. Australia were looking to consolidate their innings but the ill-fated Marnus Labuschagne fell to Ravindra Jadeja’s trap at 49. And that was the breakdown point of the poor Aussies.
Jadeja took two consecutive wickets there and all of a sudden Australia was again on the back foot. Steve Smith then went aggressive and was sooner bowled by Jadeja. Ashwin caught the tail. India reduced the Australian innings to 177 runs in the 3rd session of Day 1.
Jadeja took wickets of- Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, and Todd Murphy.
India came to bat and 24 overs were remaining of the day. Rohit Sharma showed his intent straight away when he hit 3 boundaries in the first four balls he faced. Where Rohit Sharma was taking on the bowlers, Rahul was playing the sidekick role. None of the Australian bowlers was looking sharp enough but an odd delivery of Todd Murphy spun back taking the leading edge and Murphy took the only wicket that the Aussies celebrated on the day. The Stumps was called off when India were 77/1.
Ind vs Aus Day 1: Scorecard
Australia 1st Innings- 177/10
| BATTING | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
| David Warner | b Shami | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Usman Khawaja | lbw b Siraj | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | st Bharat b Jadeja | 49 | 123 | 8 | 0 | 39.83 |
| Steven Smith | b Jadeja | 37 | 107 | 7 | 0 | 34.57 |
| Matt Renshaw | lbw b Jadeja | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Peter Handscomb | lbw b Jadeja | 31 | 84 | 4 | 0 | 36.90 |
| Alex Carey | b Ashwin | 36 | 33 | 7 | 0 | 109.09 |
| Pat Cummins (c) | c Kohli b Ashwin | 6 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 42.85 |
| Todd Murphy | lbw b Jadeja | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Nathan Lyon | not out | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Scott Boland | b Ashwin | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12.50 |
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammed Shami | 9 | 4 | 18 | 1 | 2.00 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 7 | 3 | 30 | 1 | 4.28 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 22 | 8 | 47 | 5 | 2.13 |
| Axar Patel | 10 | 3 | 28 | 0 | 2.80 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 15.5 | 2 | 42 | 3 | 2.65 |
INDIA 1st Innings- 77/1 (24 overs)
| BATTING | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma (c) | not out | 56 | 69 | 9 | 1 | 81.15 |
| KL Rahul | c & b Murphy | 20 | 71 | 1 | 0 | 28.16 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | not out | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat Cummins | 4 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 6.75 |
| Scott Boland | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1.33 |
| Nathan Lyon | 10 | 3 | 33 | 0 | 3.30 |
| Todd Murphy | 7 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 1.85 |
Ind vs Aus Day 1: Key Moments
The crucial moments of the day were when Jadeja knocked Marnus Labuschagne and Matt Renshaw with consecutive balls to shatter the middle order, when Jadeja bowled beautifully to get rid of Steve Smith, and when Alex Carey’s counterattack came to a halt. The final five wickets of Australia fell for just 15 runs.
Todd Murphy had a really strong debut, but Pat Cummins lost his touch with the ball and was looking rusty. Although this surface is not a minefield, India will be aiming for a sizable lead; it is difficult to see the pitch becoming any better for batting.
Before this Test, there was a lot of debate regarding the pitch. But as India’s bat has proven, this is not a minefield. Before Murphy’s opportunity against Rahul, there had scarcely been any chances generated. The spinners from India were simply too persistent early and gave nothing away.
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