India’s stand-in skipper & deadly speedster Jasprit Bumrah dismantled Australia’s batting line up. Jasprit Bumrah took 8 wickets in the Test match and his field placements were quite spot on. Aussies batters showed some fight in 2nd innings while chasing 534 runs but got bundled out for 238 runs in 58.4 overs.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir would be quite relieved as after the Test series debacle against New Zealand; he had faced a lot of criticism for his decisions. It won’t be wrong to say that it was a collective effort from Indian team who not only performed but challenged Australia in each & every session of the 1st Test Match
India’s tragic batting collapse
Jasprit Bumrah had elected to bat first after winning the toss. A lot of eyebrows were raised when Washington Sundar was playing ahead of the seasoned campaigners Ravichandran Ashwin & Ravindra Jadeja at Perth. India didn’t had a great start with the bat but somehow they managed to post 150 runs on board and that happened as Rishabh Pant (*scored 37 runs) & Nitish Reddy (*scored 41 runs) played a fearless brand of cricket as earlier India’s score was 73-6.
Australia’s trio Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood & skipper Pat Cummins had announced their arrival in BGT 2024-25. Josh Hazlewood was spot-on with his line & length and was bowling long & effective spells with 4 wickets to his name. It seemed that Aussies would take a huge lead & dictate the game but they weren’t ready for a storm.
Jasprit Bumrah & batters annoy Australia
Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Siraj created a lot of pressure & there was constant chattering going on with Aussie batters. Jasprit Bumrah was bowling with sheer pace & his release points made life harder for Australian batters. India reduced Australia to 67-7 in 27 overs and the evening session of Day 1 gave India an edge over Australia.
Jasprit Bumrah bowled his heart out and wasn’t giving any ample room to batters. There was a glimmer of hope for Australia on Day 2 in the form of Alex Carey but he also couldn’t trouble the scorers. India got a crucial 46 runs lead after bowling out Australia for 104 runs in 51 overs. Jasprit Bumrah took a 5 wicket haul in his 18 overs and bowled 6 maiden overs in his spell.
Yashasvi Jaiswal & KL Rahul looked untroubled against one of the finest bowling attacks. Yashasvi Jaiswal & KL Rahul were playing proper test cricket of wearing down the bowlers & they did that undoubtedly. The defense of the openers was a treat to watch who showed that Indian batters can also play the waiting game & capitalize on loose deliveries if needed. India’s score at the end of Day 2 was 172-0 and Aussie pacers looked a bit frazzled.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s spectacular ton & Virat Kohli’s ominous ton
Yashasvi Jaiswal took down the Aussie bowling attack & was intrepid giving a glimpse of how he had plundered England’s bowling attack in 2024 Test series in India. Yashasvi was watching the ball keenly & that made him succeed on the fastest wicket. Yashasvi notched up his 4th Test ton and the wickets falling from other end didn’t bother him. Yashasvi was dismissed on 161 runs and hit 15 fours and 3 sixes.
Pat Cummins & his bowling unit inflicted India’s batting collapse but Virat Kohli had other ideas. Virat Kohli rediscovered his mojo & it looked as if the 2014-15 old Virat Kohli was batting as the way he found gaps in the field was quite a treat to watch. Jasprit Bumrah declared the innings when Virat Kohli scored century & his 30th Test ton in the format.
A nervy phase at the end of Day 3 of 4.2 overs was enough for Indian bowlers to take 3 wickets of Australian batters. Siraj & Bumrah took the advantage of Australian batters’ being exhausted after 2 days of being on the field. Marnus Labuschagne, Cummins & Nathan McSweeney were sent back to the pavilion as Australia was in a spot of bother at 12-3 in 4.2 overs.
India’s bowling unit ravages Australian batters
Usman Khawaja & Steven Smith needed to bail out Australia and take the match session by session. The short ball ploy for Usman Khawaja worked immediately as Siraj enticed the Aussie batter to play a pull shot but couldn’t time it properly & gave easy catch to Rishabh Pant. Travis Head played a promising knock of 89 runs but Bumrah got the better of him and there was aggressive celebration by Bumrah & Virat when he nicked the ball to Pant.
Mitchell Marsh & Alex Carey tried to avoid the inevitable but the pitch had became a minefield as the ball was turning sharply & pacers were getting awkward bounce. India’s bowlers showed to the world cricket that the game of cricket is not being played on paper but on ground. In the 2nd innings, Siraj & Bumrah took 3 wickets each & now it won’t be wrong to say that Indian bowlers have a created a fear in Australian batters’ mind.
What lies ahead for Australia & India
Australia had a nightmare opening Test match and there were very high hopes from Pat Cummins’ unit to knock over India. There are chances that Jhye Richardson might be included in the 2nd Test match who had a pretty decent outing in Sheffield Match. The senior veterans Usman Khawaja & Steven Smith need to grind the bowlers & play according to their credentials as Australia need at least 350 runs while batting first in Adelaide Test match which is a day-night one scheduled on 6th December where pink ball swings a lot.
India on the other hand would be elated and with Rohit Sharma back after missing 1st Test match due to personal reasons; there are going to be happy selection head-aches. Will KL Rahul bat in the middle order after a terrific knock in 2nd innings or Rohit will change his batting position. Harshit Rana impressed everyone in this Test match by taking 4 wickets on debut so did Nitish Reddy by performing in all the facets of the game. India has got the mettle over Australia but would be wary of a counter attack punch by Aussies who as of now are wounded.