As cricket fans, we all know that the first day of the first Test can make or break a team’s performance. Unfortunately, for Australia, day one of the first Test against India in Nagpur was not in their favour. Despite being bowled out for just 177 runs, there was one glimmer of hope for the Aussies – the debut of 22-year-old Todd Murphy, who finished the day with his first Test scalp.
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Meanwhile some BigFooty members had a bit to say about the wicket preparation, accusing the Indian groundskeepers of doctoring the pitch to suit their bowlers, while Indian fans said “everybody does it”.
Back to the game. India gave the Aussies a lesson in how to bat this pitch. Captain Rohit Sharma led the charge, scoring 56 off 69 balls and leading India to a commanding 1/77 at stumps. Despite the dominance of India’s spinners, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, who took a total of 8 wickets, former Australian great Matthew Hayden saw one positive for the Aussies – the degree of turn produced by their spinners, which was 3.4 degrees compared to India’s 2.9 degrees.
Unfortunately, India’s dominance was reflected in their partnerships, with only two contributions from the Aussies, 82 runs from Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, and 53 runs from Peter Handscomb and Alex Carey. This resulted in Australia’s lowest first innings total in a Test match since November 2016.
Former Test star Dinesh Karthik even predicted an innings win for India, stating that Australia had been their own worst enemy. However, Mark Waugh was more cautious, saying that it wouldn’t be that easy.
In conclusion, it was a tough day for the Aussies, but they will look to bounce back in the upcoming days and make a comeback in the first Test against India in Nagpur.
