ADELAIDE: A fiery comeback spell from Australian pacer Mitchell Starc stopped India in its tracks, reducing them to 82/4 at the end of first session on the first day of the second Test at Adelaide Oval on Friday. At tea, India were 82/4, Rishabh Pant (4*) and skipper Rohit Sharma (1*) unbeaten.
After electing to bat first, India was off to a poor start as opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was trapped leg-before-wicket plumb on the first ball of the innings. India was 0/1.
Following that, Shubman Gill and K L Rahul was the pair at the crease which had to see off the new, shiny, pink-ball. On his return from thumb injury, Gill made his attacking intentions clear with two classy boundaries against Mitchell Starc, who had just taken Jaiswal’s wicket.
Gill was targetting Starc really well, hitting him for an odd boundary. Rahul was caught behind by wicketkeeper Alex Carey on a delivery by Scott Boland in the eigth over, but to the delight of fans, it was a no ball. At the end of first 10 overs, India were 30/1, with Gill (19*) and KL (9*) unbeaten.
Rahul, who looked in supreme touch in the Perth Test, showcased it to the Adelaide crowd with some fine drives, including two successive boundaries against Aussie skipper Pat Cummins in 15th over, which took India to 50-run mark in 14.5 overs. KL (26*) and Gill (25*) were seeing off the pace trio of Cummins, Boland and Starc really well with patience, punishing loose balls with disdainful drives.
KL’s stay at the crease was ended by Starc with a fine catch from Nathan McSweeney at gully. KL was gone for 37 in 64 balls, with six fours. India was 69/2 in 18.4 overs. Virat Kohli was also looking good, but was caught in slips by Steve Smith, with Starc getting him for just seven runs. India was 77/3 in 20.1 overs.
India’s downfall continued, with Gill being trapped lbw by Boland for 31 in 51 balls, with five fours. India was 81/4 in 21.1 overs. At session end, Rishabh and Rohit were unbeaten.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first in the second Test, which will be a pink-ball, day and night affair. India are currently 1-0 up in the BGT series following their record-shattering 295-run victory in Perth.
The Adelaide Test sees India entering with both a mental and physical edge, following a dominant performance in the first Test led by Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling and captaincy. However, the visitors will also aim to exorcise the memories of the infamous 2020 Adelaide pink-ball Test, where they were dismissed for their lowest Test score of 36 runs. On that occasion, Pat Cummins (4/21) and Josh Hazlewood (5/8) dismantled the Indian batting line-up, giving Australia a straightforward target of 90 runs to chase.
India has made three changes to their side, Rohit and Shubman Gill are back in the team, with latter coming after a thumb injury that caused him to miss the first Test. Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will also be playing the match, having taken 18 wickets in four pink-ball matches, averaging a brilliant 13.83. The players sitting out are: Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel and Washington Sundar.
For Australia, pacer Josh Hazlewood misses out due to a strain and Scott Boland comes in.
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Nitish Reddy, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Australia (Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland. (ANI)