Finance
Usman Khawaja’s half-century (60) and Matthew Kuhnemann’s maiden Test five-wicket haul put Australia in command with a crucial 47-run lead on day one of the third Border-Gavaskar Trophy match against India at the Holkar Stadium on Wednesday.
In what was the best day for Australia on the ongoing tour, Kuhnemann ran through India’s batting order, taking 5/16 in his nine overs on a pitch which had sharp turn and variable bounce. Nathan Lyon took three wickets, while Todd Murphy dismissed Virat Kohli, as India were bowled out for 109.
Thereafter, Khawaja with his soft hands and a calm head, stitched a vital 96-run stand with Marnus Labuschagne to take Australia to 156/4 in 54 overs at stumps, though the duo fell for 60 and 31 respectively. For India, Ravindra Jadeja took all four Australian wickets and was the only bowler to trouble the visitors’.
Since the beginning of the day, there has been frenetic play, and every ball has been an event. India’s lowest Test total at home since 107 and 105 against Australia in Pune in 2017 is also their fifth shortest innings while being all-out in home conditions.
Day 1 began with exciting action as a returning Mitchell Starc produced a faint edge off Rohit Sharma, but Australia did not take the review. Replays later revealed that the review could have resulted in a wicket for Australia.
On the fourth ball of the over, Starc hit Rohit’s back pad, but didn’t take a review again. Later, ball tracking revealed three reds, giving Rohit a second chance. He and Shubman Gill hit six delightful boundaries in the first five overs.
However, Australia’s spinners spun a vicious web to entangle the Indian batters. Rohit was the first to go, dancing down the pitch to go over mid-on but being unable to reach the pitch of the ball as it turned sharply and being stumped off Kuhnemann in the sixth over.
The left-arm spinner returned in his next over after Gill was caught at first slip due to a defensive prod. Lyon then got a sharp turn in to break through Cheteshwar Pujara’s defense and hit the stumps. Jadeja’s promotion also backfired when he couldn’t keep the cut down and was caught off Lyon at cover.
Shreyas Iyer then chopped on to his stumps off Kuhnemann for a two-ball duck, as India lost five wickets in the first hour. While other batters faltered, Virat Kohli looked confident in his defense and found some timely boundaries. His stay was cut short at the age of 22 when off-spinner Todd Murphy trapped him in front of stumps. KS Bharat performed a powerful sweep and slog-sweep, but was also lbw off Lyon at the stroke of noon.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel lingered, but Kuhnemann struck again after lunch, taking the edge of the former’s bat and being caught behind by Alex Carey in a good low catch.
Umesh Yadav’s slog sweeps, followed by a hoicked four, propelled India past 100. Kuhnemann, on the other hand, got his five-fer by trapping Umesh lbw, which stayed low and hit him on the back pad. Mohammed Siraj was out by miles after being late in responding to the second run from an alert Axar Patel. India’s innings ended at 109.
When India batted first, Jadeja trapped Travis Head lbw in his first over, with the left-handed batter given out on review. Jadeja clean bowled Labuschagne for a duck, but replays showed it was a no-ball.
India’s desperation to get a wicket was evident when they lost two reviews in five overs, both to Khawaja. When Ashwin trapped him lbw, India were cautious in taking a review, which later turned out to be a great chance wasted.
Khawaja and Labuschagne used soft hands and kept their cool to rotate strike and establish boundaries with loose deliveries. The Indian bowlers tried too hard but couldn’t find the right line or length to trouble Khawaja and Labuschagne. Khawaja thrived on a vicious pitch by playing late and using vertical shots.
Khawaja began the final session by flicking and reverse-sweeping off Jadeja. The pair continued to rotate strike, and Khawaja eventually scored his 21st Test fifty as Australia recorded their highest partnership of the series.
From the 31st over onwards, Labuschagne was beaten by the left-arm spinner at least five times. Jadeja eventually got a slider to fox Labuschagne, who was on the backfoot, and the ball stayed low to the crash into the stumps.
After Australia took the lead, Khawaja found it difficult to bowl against Jadeja, who bowled from an over-the-wicket angle. He tried to counter with a sweep, but it backfired as he swept straight to deep mid-wicket off Jadeja.
Steve Smith hit some boundaries off Axar and Jadeja, but the Australian captain played down the wrong line, and a thin edge was caught behind by KS Bharat, becoming the left-arm spinner’s fourth wicket. Cameron Green and Peter Handscomb batted for 5.1 overs until stumps fell on a day that favored Australia.
Brief Scores: Australia 156/4 in 54 overs (Usman Khawaja 60, Marnus Labuschagne 21; Ravindra Jadeja 4/63) lead India 109 all out in 33.3 overs (Virat Kohli 22, Shubman Gill 21; Matthew Kuhnemann 5/16, Nathan Lyon 3/35) by 47 runs
Source:IANS
