BGT 2024 | Perth pitch brings pacers into the spotlight as India and Australia crumble to low scores

Debayan Sinha

ByDebayan Sinha, SportsCafe Editor

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The first day at Perth was dominated by pacers, with a total of 17 wickets falling as both teams struggled with the bat. India suffered an early collapse and was dismissed for just 150 runs. Australia faced similar difficulties and tallied at 67/7 and trailed by 83 runs at the end of the day.

‌The crowd at Perth erupted as cricket legends Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar placed the prestigious trophy on the pedestal, marking the beginning of the much-anticipated contest. After the national anthem, Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul took their positions, with Mitchell Starc opening the bowling. The pace and bounce of the Perth pitch were evident from the first delivery, which went down the leg side for a four. However, it was the Aussie seamers, Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who dominated early on. Australia struck their first breakthrough when Starc dismissed Jaiswal for a duck in the third over, leaving India at 5/1. With Shubman Gill injured, Karnataka's Devdutt Padikkal came in at number three, joining his comrade from the same state. After a fiery spell from the Starc-Hazlewood duo, it was Pat Cummins who took the new ball and bowled a clean eighth over. The Indian batters continued to struggle with the Perth conditions as Padikkal fell for a duck off 23 balls, leaving India at 18/2 after 12 overs. Although Rahul looked in good form, Virat Kohli failed to capitalize, departing for just five runs off 12 deliveries. With Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul at the crease, India’s scorecard read 47/3 after 22 overs. Unfortunately, Starc's brilliance struck again in the 23rd over, sending Rahul back to the pavilion. As Pant and Dhruv Jurel settled in, India found themselves at 51/4 in 25 overs when lunch was called.

 

Post-lunch, Mitchell Marsh bowled his first over and kept things tight with a maiden in the 26th. However, the pressure mounted on India as Marsh took the crucial wicket of Dhruv Jurel in the 28th over, leaving India at a vulnerable 59/5. Despite Washington Sundar’s departure in the 32nd over, Rishabh Pant continued his attacking play, and he, along with debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy, forged a 48-run stand, taking the score to 121/6 in 45 overs. Unfortunately, Pant was dismissed by Pat Cummins in the 46th over, and Harshit Rana followed shortly after, leaving India at 128/8. Reddy, however, held firm and ended with 41 runs off 59 balls, but India were all out for 150 runs just before tea, with Reddy providing some much-needed resistance.

In the last session, Australia were off to a shaky start as Bumrah scalped the wicket of debutant Nathan McSweeney in the third over. The woe persisted for the hosts as Bumrah struck again and got rid of Usman Khwaja and Steve Smith in quick succession. The most highlighted point came when Harshit Rana got his maiden Test wicket and took the wicket of the dangerous Travis Head who was dismissed for 11 runs. With Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh at the crease, Australia reached 37/4 in 15 overs and trailing by 113 runs. The disarray continued for Austria as they lost both go them as they tallied at a reeling 48/6 in 22 overs. Ultimately, the day ended with Indian pacers taking complete charge as Australia ended the day at 67/7 in 27 overs and trailing by 83 runs at the stumps. 

Bumrah for you!

 Great

Superb comeback

New India

India leads

The best in the world

Day 1 belongs to Bumrah

Aussies crashed

India wins the day 1

Nice

Superb

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