36 ALL OUT

Humiliation for India with fifth lowest total ever and now captain Kohli is heading home By Lawrence Booth

WITH less than a year to go before Joe Root’s England head south in search of the Ashes, Australia’s bowlers sent them an unequivocal message by dismantling India for 36 at Adelaide. It was their lowest ever total, undercutting 42 at Lord’s in 1974. And for the first time in Test history, all 11 batsmen plus extras failed to reach double figures in an innings, with opener Mayank Agarwal’s nine the highest score. In short, it was carnage. The Australians had trailed by 53 on first innings, but took control as India resumed at nine for one on the third afternoon of their pink-ball day-night Test. They were soon in tatters at 19 for six, with Josh Hazlewood quickly completing figures of five for eight. Pat Cummins claimed four for 21, and ended the rout by hitting No 11 Mohammed Shami on the arm, forcing him to retire hurt. Set 90 to win, Australia raced home for the loss of two wickets before the floodlights had even been switched on. ‘A few of the guys are going to realise their true characters and how they can step up for the side,’ said a shaken Indian captain, Virat Kohli. ‘I’m very confident that we will learn from this.

I don’t think we have ever had a worse batting collapse than this, and it can only go up from here.’

India, though, will have to fight back from 1-0 down in this fourmatch series without the services of Kohli, who will miss the last three Tests because of paternity leave. And he will fly home knowing that, at 188 for three on the opening day, his team ought to have taken the game by its scruff.

Instead, Kohli was run out for 74 after a mix-up with Ajinkya Rahane — the first of 17 Indian wickets to tumble for just 92.

Hazlewood, who collected Australia’s cheapest five-for since 1946-47, described himself as a ‘ bit stunned’, adding: ‘ We just didn’t let up, really. It was one of those days when everything went to plan. We kept putting it in on that spot, and the nicks kept coming. It happened so quickly, it was over before we knew it.’

Five of the nicks were held by Australian captain and wicketkeeper Tim Paine, who was named man of the match both for his glovework and his firstinnings 73 not out. The second Test begins at Melbourne on Boxing Day.