Finance
After bowling out the visitors for 177 on an engrossing day of cricket at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday, India reached 77/1 at stumps against Australia on the first day of the first Test of the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
Rohit batted aggressively and raced to his fifty off 66 deliveries as he and K.L Rahul raised 76 runs for the opening wicket to set India up for a big total in their first innings.
However, they gave up some of that advantage when Rahul got out just an over before stumps, raising Australia’s hopes after they failed to reach even 200 in their first innings on a spin-friendly track where the ball was staying low occasionally.
Rahul, who batted cautiously and resolutely for 71 balls, was caught off guard by debutant spinner Todd Murphy as he attempted to flick a delivery that gripped the surface and offered a return catch. R Ashwin (0 not out), who batted as nightwatchman, and Rohit (56 not out off 69) were both unbeaten at stumps on the first day.
India reached fifty runs off 94 balls thanks to Rohit’s aggressive start. The Indian captain batted in limited-overs mode, hitting two fours off his counterpart Pat Cummins’ first two deliveries.
Though the first four was unintentional as Sharma attempted to withdraw his bat and the ball streaked through the gap between third and fourth slips, the second boundary came off a flick as Cummins strayed to the leg side. He struck another four off the fourth ball of the over as India scored 13 runs off the first over.
Cummins brought in Nathan Lyon after Scott Boland failed to find much purchase, hoping the off-spinner would exploit the juice in the pitch and get him an early breakthrough.
But that didn’t happen, and Rahul continued to bat aggressively, hitting Cummins for two fours in the fifth over.
Lyon, the best Australian off-spinner of all time, bowled well and caused some trouble for the Indian batters, but with Rohit in aggressive mode and KL Rahul cautious, the Aussies failed to create many chances.
In the 14th over, Sharma launched him down the ground for the first six of the match, taking a step down the pitch and hoisting him through the line. He also struck the offie for two fours.
Unlike the Australian openers, who were both caught on the crease, Sharma planned to get on the front foot at every opportunity. He hit eight fours and a six to reach his half-century in 66 balls. However, just as the Indians were about to end the day with 10 wickets in hand, Rahul was out, giving Australia a foothold in the game.
Brief scores:
Australia 177 all out in 63.5 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 49, Steve Smith 37, Alex Carey 36, Peter Handscomb 31; Ravindra Jadeja 5-47, Ashwin 3-42) v India 77/1 in 24 overs (Rohit Shama batting 56; Kl Rahul 20, Murphy 1-13).
Source:OCN
