India secures 46-run lead on a pitch that continues to offer plenty of bounce and sideways movement, making batting difficult with the new ball
Published Date – 23 November 2024, 10:45 AM
India’s captain Jasprit Bumrah and teammate Virat Kohli as they leave the field at the end of the first innings on the second day of the first cricket test between Australia and India in Perth, Australia, Saturday. — Photo:AP
Perth: India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets as Australia was bowled out for 104 in its first innings on the second day of the opening match of the five-test series on Saturday.
India secured a 46-run lead on a pitch that continues to offer plenty of bounce and sideways movement, making batting difficult with the new ball.
In the first four sessions of the game 20 wickets have fallen, 17 of them on the opening day. Australia was bowled out at the stroke of lunch Saturday after top scorer and fast bowler Mitchell Starc (26) skied paceman Harshit Rana (3-48) after a stubborn 25-run stand that lifted Australia from 79-9.
Starc and Hazlewood (6 not out) frustrated India for 90 minutes before Rana struck. Australia lost two quick wickets in Alex Carey (21) and Nathan Lyon (5) and was embarrassingly facing the prospects of being bowled out for its lowest total against its subcontinent opposition.
It was Bumrah’s 11th five-wicket haul in his 41st test match when he forced Carey to edge an outswinger to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. Starc was hit on the helmet when he ducked into a Rana delivery and required attention from the medical and support staff under the concussion rule.
Starc and Rana are teammates at Kolkata Knight Riders in the T20 Indian Premier League, and Rana quickly apologized to Starc. Five overs after Carey fell, Lyon lobbed a catch to K.L. Rahul at third slip to give Rana his second wicket on his test debut.
After winning the toss and batting on the first day, India was dismissed for 150 following some strong middle order batting that lifted the tourist from 73-6 following a 48-run stand between Pant (37) and top scorer Nitesh Kumar Reddy (41) in his test debut. Hazlewood led the bowling attack with 4-29 while Starc, Mitchell Marsh and skipper Pat Cummins claimed two wickets each. Australia and India are one-two in the World Test Championship standings.
