The much-talked-about Border Gavaskar Trophy got underway on Thursday at Nagpur with India straightaway showing Australia how tough a challenge they are up against in the four-match series.
There was a lot of talk about pitch before the start of the first Test and the track did turn out to be a spin-friendly one, as expected. But Australia was put into backfoot by Indian seamers after they opted to bat first.
It was the duo of Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj who got the better of Australian openers within the first three overs. Shami uprooted dangerous David Warner’s stumps while Siraj trapped Usman Khawaja leg before.
It seemed Aussies had prepared for India’s spinners while not paying attention to what the host seamers could do, especially with the new ball. But the tourists did put on some fight after those early wickets.
Labuschagne, Smith resistance
Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith formed a stand of 82 runs. Their stay at the crease was a pure display of how batters should bat at the rank turners. They went both forward and backwards, depending on what length was on offer.
However, before they could take the game away, Ravindra Jadeja came to the party. The left-arm spinner was returning from a long injury but having played a Ranji Trophy match in gear up of the series ensured his rhythm was up there.
He finished with a fifer while his partner Ravichandran Ashwin also scalped three wickets as Australia was bowled on a meagre total of 177 runs.
Rohit shows Aussies how to bat in Nagpur
As soon as the Indian openers walked to bat, it seemed a new strip was dropped at Nagpur. While it was gripping and spinning massively when India bowled, the track seemed an entirely different one with Rohit Sharma and Kl Rahul finding no trouble.
Kl Rahul did fall to debutant Todd Murphy at the cusp of day one, Rohit Sharma’s stroke-filled unbeaten fifty ensured India finish the day on top. India’s scoresheet read 77-1 in 24 overs, trailing by 100 runs at the end of the day’s play.
The road now seems clear for India to run away with a massive first-innings lead. But is it going to be that easy? As has been the case in the past on rank turners, once a few wickets fall, the scenario changes entirely. So, if Australia is able to get early wickets tomorrow morning, there could be a twist.
