Indians suffer a lowblow
Australia stunned themselves with the ease in which they sealed an eight-wicket win at Adelaide Oval, where Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood’s spellbinding spells skittled a shellshocked India for their lowest test total in history.
Tim Paine’s team secured a 1-0 series lead before the dinner break on day three of the pink-ball test, hauling in a target of 90.
The tourists were out for 36 in their second innings after Mohammed Shami retired hurt, having been struck on his exposed right arm by a brute of a ball from Cummins.
The Press Trust of India (PTI) is reporting that scans revealed a fracture in Shami’s right arm.
‘‘Mohammed Shami has a fracture and the chances of him taking part in the remaining three test matches is next to nil,’’ a BCCI source told PTI, the agency is reporting.
New-look opening pair Joe Burns (51 not out) and Matthew Wade (33) shared a 70-run stand as Australia needed just 21 overs to complete an incredible victory.
Shami was rushed off for scans as captain Virat Kohli prepared to fly out for the birth of his first child.
The visitors resumed at 9-1 on Saturday, leading by 62 runs.
Cummins (4-21) and Hazlewood (5-8) created unmitigated chaos in the ensuing 90 minutes, during which no batsman reached double figures.
‘‘A bit stunned,’’ Hazlewood said. ‘‘I’ve been in their shoes before in different series. Getting bowled out for 36 is going to leave a few headaches. Their best batter leaving is going to leave a bit of a hole. But they’ve got plenty of class batters on the sidelines.’’
Kohli struggled to describe his embarrassment, noting ‘‘this is not club-level cricket’’.
‘‘Literally an hour, you put yourself in a position where it’s impossible to win,’’ he said.
‘‘It really hurts.’’
The entrance to the India team’s dressing room was a revolving door as Cummins and Hazlewood celebrated careerdefining moments and big milestones.
‘‘It shows the talent we’ve got with the ball,’’ Paine said. ‘‘It can be an absolute nightmare.’’
Mayank Agarwal’s nine and Hanuma Vihari’s eight helped India surpass the 26 that New Zealand mustered in 1955, which remains the lowest score in 150 years of test cricket.
But Kohli suffered the ignominy of leading the XI that set the bar below the 42 scored at Lord’s in 1974, which had been India’s lowest score from almost 550 tests.
Cummins ignited a scarcelybelievable collapse of 5-4 when nightwatchman Jasprit Bumrah chipped a catch back to him.
The express paceman had Cheteshwar Pujara out edging, for a duck, while Kohli became his 150th wicket in test cricket.
A deflated and defeated Kohli struggled to make sense of India’s capitulation.
‘‘It’s very hard to find words to express how everyone is feeling in the changerooms ... it really hurts,’’ Kohli said. ‘‘The ball didn’t do much ... everything just happened so quickly that no-one could make any sense of it.
‘‘We lacked intent. The way we batted allowed them to look more potent than they probably were.’’
Kohli’s departure leaves a gaping hole in an India side which could make at least three changes for Melbourne’s Boxing Day test.