India vs Australia-1st Test Day 1 Review
The much anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 got underway in Nagpur. There were a lot of talks regarding the pitch ahead of the first Test. Australian media claimed that India resorted to selective pitch doctoring targeting Australian left-handers. Few ‘experts’ claimed that India has prepared a dustbowl to suit their play. None of the sides revealed their playing XI ahead of the match. Let us look at India vs Australia-1st Test Day 1 Review in detail.
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We look at India vs Australia-1st Test Day 1 Review:
#1 Australia’s baffling selection call
Pat Cummins won the toss and had no hesitation to bat first. But what got tongues wagging was the fact that Australia chose Matt Renshaw ahead of Travis Head. The latter was one of the standout batsmen for Australia last year. His fearless batting style would have been ideal on a surface that demanded proactiveness.
Head’s off-spin abilities would have been handy too. Hence the decision to omit him seemed all the more baffling. There is an inning more to be played in this Test, but Renshaw being dismissed for a golden duck wouldn’t have been lost on anyone.
#2 India persists with a struggling KL Rahul
India had two batting spots for three candidates. Once they decided to hand Suryakumar Yadav his maiden cap, it was a straight toss-up between KL Rahul and Shubman Gill for the opening slot. Gill had been in tremendous form in the last few series across formats. He had a great debut outing against the same side albeit in different conditions.
But India decided to stick to KL Rahul. The opener looked scratchy right throughout his stay. He played well within himself looking to play out the day. Rahul was dismissed in the penultimate over to an innocuous delivery highlighting his fragile state of mind.
#3 Indian seamers were right on the money
Amidst all the talk surrounding spin-friendly wickets, it was India’s pacers who did the most damage. Mohammad Siraj and Mohammad Shami removed both the Aussie openers inside the first three overs. Australian pace bowlers on the other hand squandered the opportunity. They bowled on both sides of the wicket making life easier for Indian openers with the new ball.
#4 Australian batters got starts but failed to convert
None of the Australian batters could get past 50. Marnus Labuschagne top scored with 49. His partnership with Steve Smith threatened to take the game away from India. But neither of them batted long enough. The same was true for the pair of Peter Handscomb and Alex Carey. They played attractive cricket but couldn’t do it for a longer duration.
#5 Indian spinners run through the Aussies
It was the familiar combination of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin who did the maximum damage. The duo plucked 8 wickets between them. Jadeja returning from injury broke open the game with wickets off successive balls to dismiss Labuschagne and Renshaw. He came back to dismiss Smith and added two more to his tally. Ashwin removed the dangerous-looking Carey and finished off the tail restricting Australia to just 177.
#6 Rohit Sharma-the captain shows the way
Indian captain Rohit Sharma got his side off to a wonderful start. He smashed 3 boundaries off his counterpart in the very first over. Sharma stroked a brilliant half-century taking the attack to Australia. If not for Rahul’s cautious stay at the crease, India could have added more runs to their kitty. They are 100 runs away from Australia’s total and have 9 wickets in hand.
#7 Who won on day one?
India is the dominant side at the end of day one. If they build on their good start on day two, they could be runaway winners as early as day two. There is plenty riding on day two and just like any Test day in India things are expected to spiral quickly.
