AUS vs IND | Twitter reacts to Starc’s love affair with pink ball derail India on opening day

Arijit Kundu

ByArijit Kundu, SportsCafe Editor

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Australia trail by 94 runs on a dramatic opening day of the second Test at the Adelaide Oval. Despite starts from KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Nitish Reddy, India were folded for 180 before a 62-run stand between Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan McSweeney kept the visitors at bay in the pink-ball Test.

Going by the usual way of batting first in pink-ball Tests, India faced an early setback when Yashasvi Jaiswal was plumb in front on the first ball of the Test by Mitchell Starc. Shubman Gill walked in next executing a couple of fours in the very same over. While KL Rahul soaked up pressure with a defensive mindset in the first hour, Gill punished the looseners before his partner joined him after Drinks. The pair seemed invincible during their 69-run partnership before Starc’s second spell brought the game in Australia’s balance. The final twenty minutes of the first session saw the left-arm pacer rip through Rahul and Virat Kohli coupled with Scott Boland trapping Shubman Gill to leave India 83/4 at Lunch. 

Following a slight drizzle, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant kicked off the proceedings with the former failing after a batting demotion. Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin tried to stabilise the situation with Nitish Kumar Reddy but the former two departed quickly. With Starc coming in for his third spell, a couple of wickets fell leaving Nitish strangled with Jasprit Bumrah at 141/8. Just when it seemed Australia could fold them quick, the Andhra-based all-rounder clobbered three sixes against the pacers to propel India to 180 before falling as the last wicket for 42. 

The third session unfolded with Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney facing disciplined bowling from Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. The southpaw was dismissed in Bumrah’s first spell before Marnus Labuschagne joined the youngster in blunting the new ball’s shine for a prolonged period. Labuschagne took 18 balls to get off the mark after surviving an intense face-off with Bumrah. India’s attack blunted as time passed by with other pacers barring Bumrah failing to test the Aussie duo. They took their time to mark the fifty-run stand and didn’t stop despite the constant chirpy slip cordon, steering Australia to 86/1 at Stumps.

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Aussies all the way

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