Team India’s bowlers put together an outstanding performance as Australia was all out for 177 in the first innings. Australia was in trouble after choosing to bat on Day 1 of the match at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
Ravindra Jadeja has a five-wicket haul for India, and Ravichandran Ashwin has taken three wickets.
India needed just 3.5 overs after the tea break to end their innings. Before Ravichandran Ashwin (3 for 42 in 15.5 overs) took his third wicket of the Australian innings, Ravindra Jadeja had finished his five-wicket haul and had returned statistics of 5 for 47 in 22 overs.
The Australian tail did not wag thanks to the spin-twins. A strong bowling performance has put the onus on the hitters to perform for the hosts.
In the opening of a four-match series against India, Australia’s standout duo of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith stabilized their innings after being reduced to 2/2 after just 13 balls of play.
The two batted through the last few over until lunch, helping them reach 76/2. After the break, though, the Indian attack—led by Ravindra Jadeja—roared back spectacularly.
5-wicket haul – Wicket by wicket
The first of Jadeja’s three wickets fell in Australia’s innings’ 36th over. The No. 1 Test hitter in the world, Labuschagne, tried to drive Jadeja by extending forward, but his fast turn prevented him from making any contact.
By the time the keeper broke the stumps and the ball got to KS Bharat’s large gloves, Labuschagne had already left the field after reaching 49 runs.
The next delivery also resulted in a wicket, as Matt Renshaw was the victim after being caught leg-before. Jadeja quickly caught the big fish in Smith during the 42nd over.
Smith anticipated some turn, but the Indian all-rounder was astute enough to deliver an arm ball to clean him up.
Todd Murphy is then caught in Jadeja’s trap for a duck in LBW. The 11th five-wicket haul for the Indian spinner in Test cricket came when he trapped Nathan Lyon in front of the stumps to seal the five-wicket total.
Lyon attempted a review but was unsuccessful because the ball is believed to have struck the center of the middle stump.
IND vs AUS 1st Test – Playing XI
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Scott Boland
Also Read: IND vs AUS, 1st test: Indian Pacers On Fire In Nagpur, Knocked Out Openers – Watch
