Nagpur: In the first Test against India, Australia lost all wickets for 177 runs as Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin’s spin failed to attack. Batting continuously, the Indian team scored 77 runs for the loss of one wicket at the end of the first day’s play.
The Australian team won the toss and elected to bat in the Test match which started yesterday at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur. Spinner Todd Murphy made his debut in the team. Wicket keeper Srikar Bharath and middle order batsman Suryakumar Yadav were included as debutants in the Indian team.
The start was shocking for the Australian team who opened the batting. Usman Khawaja was dismissed lbw by Mohammad Siraj for 1 run. Another opener, David Warner (1), was bowled by Mohammed Shami. At 2 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in 2.1 overs, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith tried to build a partnership focusing on the tackle.
As a result, the Australian team added 76 runs without losing wickets in 32 overs at the lunch break. Labuschenne 30, Smith 14 continued after the lunch break. Shortly after, Srikar was stumped by Param when Labuschenne tried to play Ravindra Jadeja’s ball out of the crease. This was a big turning point.
Labuschenne scored 49 off 123 balls with 8 boundaries. He added 82 runs for the 3rd wicket along with Smith. Jadeja dismissed Matt Renshaw (0) lbw in the very next ball. Then Peter Handscomb came into action. In the 42nd over, Jadeja stumped Steve Smith. Taking advantage of this, he bowled Steve Smith in the last ball of the over.
Smith scored 37 runs off 107 balls with 7 boundaries. Jadeja took these 3 wickets in a gap of 27 runs. The Australian team went from 2 wickets for 82 runs to 5 wickets for 109 runs. In this situation, wicketkeeper batsman Alex Carey added runs quickly by playing sweep and reverse sweep shots against the Indian spin.
But that was his reaction. Ashwin’s first delivery of the 54th over saw Alex Carey attempt a reverse sweep when the ball skimmed the silk stumps on the edge of the bat. As a result, Alex Carey was out for 36 runs. He added these runs with 7 fours off 33 balls.
Following this, captain Pat Cummins was caught by Virat Kohli who was standing in the direction of the first bowler off Ashwin’s ball for 6 runs. Todd Murphy (0), dismissed by Jadeja lbw. Peter Handscomb, who played a bit steady, scored 31 runs off 84 balls, with 4 fours, and Jadeja walked the ball.
Scott Boland, who was the last wicket, was bowled by Ashwin for one run. In the end, Australia lost all wickets for 177 runs in 63.5 overs. Australia bowled their last 5 wickets for just 15 runs. On behalf of the Indian team, Ravindra Jadeja bowled 22 overs and scored 47 runs with 8 maidens and took 5 wickets. Ashwin bowled 15.5 overs and took 3 wickets conceding 42 runs with 2 maidens. Mohammad Shami and Mohammad Siraj took one wicket each.
The Indian team then batted and scored 77 runs for the loss of one wicket in 24 overs at the end of the first day’s play. Captain Rohit Sharma, who scored his 14th half-century, remained unbeaten on 56 off 69 balls, with one six and nine fours. Another opener, KL Rahul, scored 20 off 71 balls, with a boundary, before being caught by Todd Murphy.
The fans were a bit shocked when KL Rahul lost his wicket towards the end of the first game. Along with Rohit Sharma, Ashwin was in the field for no runs. With 9 wickets in hand and 100 runs behind, the Indian team continues to play the 2nd day today.
12 Hours Training: Ravindra Jadeja, who took 5 wickets in the Nagpur Test, says, “Playing after 5 months after recovering from an injury is tough, especially playing Test cricket. I was prepared for this and worked hard on improving my fitness and ability. I used to bowl for 10-12 hours every day when I was at National Cricket Academy, Bangalore and that helped me a lot. I played a first-class game (Ranji) after a long time and bowled almost 42 overs. That gave me the confidence to play in the Test match. “There was no bounce on the Nagpur pitch, so I was aiming to bowl straight to the stumps.”
Ashwin’s record of 450 wickets: India’s Ashwin bowled Alex Carey (36 runs) in the 54th over of the Test at Nagpur. This is Ashwin’s 450th Test wicket. Ashwin became the second Indian bowler to take 450 wickets. In this category, Anil Kumble has taken 619 wickets and tops the list of highest wicket takers by Indian players.
Ashwin is the 2nd fastest player in the world and the fastest Indian player to 450 wickets. Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan had hunted 450 wickets in 80 Test matches. Ashwin has achieved this feat in 89 Test matches. Among the Indian players, Anil Kumble took 450 wickets in 93 Test matches.
Ashwin also got the 2nd place in the list of those who took 450 wickets in low balls. Australia’s Glenn McGrath bowled 23,474 balls and took 450 wickets. Ashwin has bowled 23,635 balls.