Australia rocked as India find perfect pitch
India came back from their first test hiding to roll Australia for 195 at the MCG yesterday, reports Oliver Caffrey.
Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc landed a late blow on India after the hosts were rolled for 195, on an eventful first day of the Boxing Day cricket test in Melbourne yesterday.
India went to stumps at 36-1 as the tourists endured 50 minutes of supreme fast bowling on the most lively MCG pitch in years.
Starc trapped Mayank Agarwal lbw for a duck to end the first over, evoking memories of India’s record collapse for 36 in their first test in Adelaide last week.
Pat Cummins should have had opener Shubman Gill out in slips in the fifth over, but Marnus Labuschagne put down a fastmoving chance.
Debutant Gill ( 28 not out) made the most of the let-off, showing poise beyond his 21 years to survive until the close of play alongside Cheteshwar Pujara (7).
Despite the late drama, India claimed day-one spoils as they bounced back strongly with a new-look line-up following their first test disaster.
The MCG pitch has been infamously flat in recent years, but India’s bowlers, spearheaded
by quick Jasprit Bumrah ( 4- 56) and spinner Ravi Ashwin (3-35), took advantage of its pace, spin and bounce.
Apart from an 86-run fourthwicket stand between Labuschagne and Travis Head (38), Australia never looked comfortable as Bumrah, Ashwin and debutant Mohammed Siraj (2-40), heaped on the pressure.
Bumrah cleaned up the underfire Joe Burns in the fourth over, before Ashwin claimed makeshift
opener Matthew Wade (30) and the prized scalp of Steve Smith in an eventful first session.
Smith was caught at leg-slip off a turning delivery without scoring — the 31- year- old’s first test duck since 2016.
Bumrah had Burns nicking to recalled wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant for a duck — with the Queensland opener now averaging just 24.2 from his last nine test innings.
Labuschagne successfully
appealed an lbw decision and was struck on the helmet, resulting in a lengthy delay during his innings as he top-scored with 48.
Captain Tim Paine was at the centre of some controversy, surviving a contentious run-out decision on six, with many experts believing his bat was behind the line.
But the third umpire’s call didn’t cost India, with the Australia wicketkeeper dismissed shortly after for 13.
India made four changes, highlighted by captain Virat Kohli’s forced omission (parental leave).
Pant endured a sloppy start behind the stumps, conceding 10 byes, while Gill, allrounder Ravindra Jadeja and Siraj were also inclusions.
A crowd of 27,615 was at the famous ground with fans returning to the MCG for the first time since the women’s Twenty20 World Cup final in March.
Australian cricket fans have paid tribute to Dean Jones at his favourite ground as Cricket Victoria (CV) told AAP it will posthumously reinstate his life membership award with support from his family.
Jones, who was 59, died from a stroke in September. Months before his death, the former Victorian captain handed back his CV life membership and demanded his name be removed from the state’s annual award for the best men’s one-day player.
Jones cited a ‘‘lack of culture and vision and strategy’’ from the CV administration, which he said ‘‘hurt’’ him. But CV announced Jones’ family had given their backing to reinstate his life membership and return his name to the ODI award.