AUS v IND, Perth Test: Genius Jasprit Bumrah leads India’s stinging counterpunch

In an intense opening round of the much-anticipated Perth Test bout, Australia landed the first punch.

However, Jasprit Bumrah’s fiery spells helped India land a stinging counter-punch and finish the opening day in the driver’s seat. A high-quality contest between two world-class pace attacks dominated the first day of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Optus Stadium. Batters, including stars Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, had little joy on a pitch offering its trademark pace, seam and bounce.

A staggering 17 wickets fell on Day 1, but India emerged as the happier side by the close of play. Despite being bowled out for 150, India’s pace attack left Australia reeling at 67 for 7 after 27 overs of relentless hostility from a new-look bowling unit. Bumrah got excellent support from Mohammed Siraj and debutant Harshit Rana, who continued to be as aggressive as he was when he impressed in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah showed why he is arguably the best fast bowler going around. Delivering three searing spells across nine overs, Bumrah seemed capable of taking a wicket with every ball. Eventually, he picked up four wickets, which included two wickets in an over in which he got the big scalps of Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja. Bumrah was unplayable with the red Kookaburra as he bowled with venom, knowing fully well that India needed a good start with the ball after a disappointing effort with the ball.

The shift in momentum was complete when Steve Smith, who returned to his preferred No. 4 spot, was undone by a venomous delivery that pitched outside the off-stump and jagged back to hit the pads. Smith did not even take a review as he was trapped plumb in front of the stumps. It was a shock for the packed Perth crowd as Australia lost two of their best Test batters in as many deliveries in the seventh over.

Bumrah was on the money from the word go. As the stand-in captain, he gave himself the responsibility of bowling with the red cherry. He did not take long to strike as Nathan McSweeney was undone by his magic in the third over. You can’t blame the young debutant, can you? Facing the pace tormentor, he was not equipped to handle the change in direction as Bumrah got his man LBW.

LABUSCHAGNE’S PUJARA APPROACH BACKFIRES
Marnus Labuschagne held one end, but he failed to keep the scoreboard moving. After having been dropped on 0 by Virat Kohli, Labuschagne managed just 2 runs in 52 deliveries.

Labuschagne had spoken about how he would like to emulate Cheteshwar Pujara — take time to score his runs and tire out the opposition bowlers. However, the effort to imitate India’s Pujara backfired. The Australian batter failed to move the innings forward and sucked the momentum of the innings.

Travis Head, who has been India’s tormentor in the past, was undone by an unplayable delivery from youngster Harshit Rana. Playing his first Test, Harshit bowled with a lot of heart. He was rewarded for his intent when he came around the wicket in the 12th over and got a delivery to pitch in line and move gently away to hit the top of the off-stump. Head, who was looking to counter-punch, was dismissed for just 11.

Mohammed Siraj chipped in with crucial wickets of Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh. He got one to bounce sharply from a good length to get Marsh, while KL Rahul took a fine slip catch to help Siraj end Labuschagne’s laboured stay.

Australia had wicketkeeper Alex Carey (19) and Mitchell Starc (6) unbeaten at the Stumps. The hosts will look to get as close to India’s first innings total on Saturday morning.

INDIAN BATTERS CONTINUE TO FAIL
Earlier in the day, Indian batters continued to fail in slightly bowler-friendly conditions. Hurt by the 0-3 whitewash in a home series earlier in November, Indian batters looked low on confidence.

Yashasvi Jaiswal would learn a lot from his 8-ball stay as he paid the price for playing an expansive drive against Mitchell Starc as early as the third over of the contest.

Jasprit Bumrah showed a lot of faith in his batters by winning the toss and opting to bat on a spicy pitch.

However, barring KL Rahul, there was not much fight from the Indian top-order.

Devdutt Padikkal, returning to the Test side, looked visibly overwhelmed by the occasion as he faced 23 balls before getting out for 0.

Virat Kohli paid the price for a bold strategy as he edged one to the slip cordon when he was batting on 5 in Josh Hazlewood’s over. Kohli batted well outside the crease in a bid to negate the movement, but he was undone by the extra bounce that Hazlewood induced.

Rishabh Pant threw a few counter-punches and hit a crucial 37, but he was not able to continue. He was upset with himself after throwing his wicket away — an act that saw the end of a 48-run partnership for the 7th wicket with debutant Nitish Reddy.

The likes of Dhruv Jurel and Washington Sundar failed, but young Nitish showed his mettle, topping the batting charts with a crucial 41. Nitish looked confident in his first outing in whites and played a few free-flowing shots, flaunting his tendency to absorb pressure and play his natural game.