India vs Australia | 5 talking points from Day 1 of first Test
After a steady opening partnership, Australia collapsed on the first day of the first Test at Pune to end at 256/9, only thanks to a rearguard counter-attack by Mitchell Starc. Umesh Yadav produced a fine spell with the old ball to finish with figures of 4/32 as India ended day 1 on top.
Briefscores: Australia 256/9 in 94 overs ( Renshaw 68, Starc 57*; Umesh Yadav 4/32, Ashwin 2/59)
1. Warner and Renshaw neutralize spinning Pune track
Perhaps it was not a surprise that the wicket at the MCA Stadium in Pune was offering assistance to the spinners from the first session of the Test match. But the way Renshaw and Warner dealt with it was surprising. The duo got their team off to a brilliant start with an 82-run partnership for the first wicket. Warner and Renshaw kept rotating the strike as Virat Kohli bought Ashwin into the attack as early as in the second over of the game.
The southpaw played Ashwin carefully but went after Jayant Yadav from the word go. Despite being beaten by the spin and turn on numerous occasion, Warner kept looking for every opportunity to hit a boundary against the off-spinner. Renshaw, on the other hand, showed decisive foot movement, be it while playing on the back-foot to play late, or while stepping forward to defend.
There has been a lot of talk in the build-up about how the Australian batsmen should learn from how Matthew Hayden deployed the sweep shot to great dividends in the subcontinent. Both Warner and Renshaw today made a conscious effort to use it whenever there was an opportunity. It seems like they have prepared well for what to expect on this tour, and the Pune track did not take them by surprise.
2. When the nature calls, everything else can wait
Nearly everything else in life takes a back seat when you are struck with the indomitable urge to take a dump. Renshaw probably had a tad too much of butter chicken last night. Just seconds after Umesh Yadav had broken the 82-run opening partnership between Warner and Renshaw, the latter was seen sprinting off the pitch after a quick chat with new batsman Steve Smith.
Unfortunately for him, he had to make his way back to the center of the ground to enlighten the umpires of his predicament before he started off with his Mo Farah-like jog back to the pavilion which turned into a Bolt-like sprint towards the end. The poor kid had to climb a lot of steps to get to the dressing room as well.
Renshaw did come back to the crease after Peter Handscomb was dismissed in the 60th over but Australia had already lost their momentum by then. The youngster played a defiant knock of 68, but he kept losing partners at the other end. The butter chicken is definitely off the menu from tonight.
3. India maintain their unenviable record of wasting reviews
No wonder the BCCI was so vehemently against the DRS - Indians are obviously poor at using it. After competing with Bangladesh for the title of worst reviewers in the game of cricket, India wasted both their reviews with poor calls by the 39th over on the first day of this Test.
In the 10th over, Saha appealed for a caught behind off Ashwin’s bowling to Renshaw, but the umpire turned it down. The wicketkeeper, however, convinced Kohli to go for the review, but the replay showed that there
With the first review out of the way, it took India just 28 more overs to lay to waste the remaining one. Umesh Yadav made a loud appeal for LBW against Steven Smith in the 39th over, and Kohli asked the umpire for a review after the appeal was turned down. The replay showed that the ball was sliding well down the leg side and was missing the stumps by a distance. For the remaining 41
4. Umesh Yadav invokes his inner Zaheer Khan
Umesh Yadav produced a memorable spell with the old ball to dismantle the Australian middle and lower-middle order. It was almost reminiscent of the way a certain Zaheer Khan used to get the ball to reverse swing with the old ball. The pacer, who removed the dangerous-looking David Warner in the 28th over to start the downfall of the Australian innings, removed Matthew Wade in the 76th over by trapping him in front of the stumps. Wade had moved across his stumps but the ball swung back towards him and skidded off the surface before thudding onto his pads.
He had a bit of a help from Saha, who flew across to his right to take a stunning catch behind the stumps to dismiss Steve O’Keefe in this next over before trapping Nathan Lyon right in front of the stumps in the immediately next delivery.
Australia were 149/2 at one point in the game, but they were reduced to 205/9 by the end of Umesh’s spell.
5. Starc brings along the big handle
After most of the batsmen failed to do their job, Mitchell Starc took it upon himself to get a bigger score to defend. The southpaw went on the counter-attack after he saw his partners disappear in a hurry into the pavilion. After scoring just eight runs off his first 17 deliveries, Starc went after the spinners. He
He received good support from Josh Hazlewood at the other end, who managed to survive 31 deliveries, and the duo added some crucial runs towards the end taking Australia’s score past 250 on a pitch which even the Indians will find difficult to