Border-Gavaskar Trophy, First Test, Day One, Perth
India 150: Kumar Reddy 41, pants 37; Hazlewood 4-29, Swamp 2-12
Australia 67-7: Boemrah 4-17, Siraj 2-17
Australia are trailing by 83 runs
Scorecard
Australia collapsed to 67-7 as India took control of the first Test in Perth despite being dismissed for just 150 on an extraordinary opening day.
After electing to bat first, the tourists – who made six changes from their historic third Test defeat to New Zealand earlier in November – were reduced to 32-3 and 73-6.
Virat Kohli’s struggles continued as he made just five while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal, both playing in Australia for the first time, were dismissed without scoring.
Rishabh Pant (37) and debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy (41) showed some form to counter-attack and drag India to 150 but they were bowled out within two sessions.
In reply, Jasprit Bumrah produced a breathtaking opening spell to leave Australia 19-3.
He removed debutant Nathan McSweeney lbw on review and had Usman Khawaja caught at slip, before removing Steve Smith’s first ball lbw.
Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh then both fell cheaply, before Marnus Labuschagne, who batted resiliently for two off 52 balls, was trapped by Mohammed Siraj.
Bumrah returned to depose Pat Cummins as Australia reached 67-7 at stumps and will resume their 83-run deficit when play resumes at 02:20 GMT on Saturday.
The number of 17 wickets to fall is the highest on the opening day of a Test in Australia since 1952.
Kohli fails again as India’s top spot is blown away
There were questions about India’s batting coming into the series after they were bowled out for 46, 156 and 121 in their 3-0 defeat to New Zealand.
Opener and captain Rohit Sharma will miss this match after the birth of his second child, while number three Shubman Gill was not considered for selection after sustaining a thumb injury during India’s warm-up.
That led to KL Rahul opening and Padikkal, playing in his second Test, reaching three.
With the pressure on Kohli to hold the innings together and the makeshift line-up, he brought energy to the crease and looked proactive, but once again he failed.
It was some lovely bowling from Josh Hazlewood to set it up, he went a little shorter, and he found extra bounce to bring the outside edge.
It was Kohli’s fifth single-figure score in his past 10 Test innings – where he averaged just 21.2, compared to his career average of 47.6. His average innings lasted just 29.4 balls, well below the 80.3 of his entire career.
The rest of the Indian batting line-up was blown away by the accuracy of the Australian seams.
There was hardly a loose ball, and subtle line changes often brought the lead, with nine of the wickets caught behind the stumps by Alex Carey or the cordon.
Rahul’s dismissal, which was delayed at review, was controversial, with the Indian convinced the noise from the snickometer technology was a bat-pad rather than an outside edge.
Pant, the only Indian batsman in form, resisted alongside Kumar Reddy – with both being offered a life – but Australia’s continued nagging brought rewards.
Bumrah dazzles as questions remain for Australia
Australia came into the series with their own batting questions.
After opting to reduce Steve Smith to four in the absence of Cameron Green in the middle order, they had a four-way shootout for the vacant opening spot in a warm-up match against India A.
Nathan McSweeney won that match, despite never having opened until that match, and the Queenslander was given a lead by the brilliant Bumrah.
He was hit on the thigh pad as he was about to take off first ball, before coming just short of the slip cordon. However, the reprieve was short-lived as Bumrah had him up for review for £10.
As usual, Bumrah’s line and length were exemplary during this new ball spell, with the Australian batters getting no width or freebies.
That earned him the rewards of Khawaja and Smith, who tried to convince Labuschagne to review – but simply shrugged as if to say ‘it’s over’.
Bumrah was then ably supported by Harshit Rana, who bowled Travis Head brilliantly, and Siraj.
Labuschagne threatened to blunt India as he made his slowest start in a Test innings, but ultimately his lack of scoring intent led to him being dismissed by Siraj despite a review.
Carey showed positive intentions for Australia all the way to the boundary, and whether he can stick around in the morning will likely play a key role in this Test.
‘A bit ridiculous’ – what they said
Australian bowler Mitchell Starc, speaking to ABC Tribune: “We were quite happy after two sessions with the ball when we lost the toss. We were in a good position but India have followed suit so definitely a good day to be a bowler.
“You have to give Jasprit credit [Bumrah]he showed all his skills today with swing, seam and pace and considering he is also captain.
“We’re all dealing with the bat now, there’s some cracks in it already, so the game is progressing quickly. Hopefully we can get past their score tomorrow morning and then come back and do some more damage with the ball again.”
Former Australian bowler Glenn McGrath on ABC: “They say a fast game is a good game, but today was a bit ridiculous.
“We said it would come down to which batting line-up could handle the quality bowling attacks and both struggled. The same questions are being asked.”
