The fiery Mitch Starc , when on song , is one of the most lethal sight for any batsman in the world. Aged 34 , past his prime , the left arm quick is not quite as quick and fearsome as he was in his late 20s but that’s what make you a GOAT , when past your prime , opposition is sledging you on field , your team is in the dire straits and you come up with such a performance as if you are telling the world loud & clear ” Am Not Finished , I Still Belong Here ” yeah , that’s what Mitch Starc was all about on Day 1 of this pink ball test match.
India won the toss & opted to bat 1st , marking the return of the regular Indian skipper Rohit Sharma but with the same opening combination that India went on to win the 1st Test match in Perth.
Since , the first ball of the match aussies were right upto the mark trapping Jaiswal right infront of the stumps on a pitched up ball with a hint of swing delivered by none other than Mitch Starc. In at 3 , Gill stitched a vital partnership of 69 runs for the 2nd wicket but in the 19th over starc dismissed KL , caught at gully , coming into his second spell of the match. This was only the start of a collapse and soon India was reduced to 87 for 5.
Indian skipper Rohit disastrous form in Test continued as all he managed was a single digit score of 3 runs whereas Virat was caught napping yet again to a 5th stump delivery.
Nitish Reddy continued his dream run and was the highest scorer for India , falling 8 short of his fifty to starc. The other notable contributions were of R Ashwin & Gill scoring 22 & 31 each.
Within 45 overs India was bowled out for a paltry score of 180 , with Mitch Starc being the main destructor with the ball for the aussies.
Starc figures read 6 for 48 with an economy rate of 3.4 r.p.o. Scott Boland & Cummins claiming 2 wickets each.
Aussies begun their innings quite cautiously , the opening pair of Mcsweeney & Khawaja were going on pretty well but it was time for some Bumrah magic , getting Khawaja caught at slip.
In at 3 , Labuschagne has looked solid so far , batting not out on 20 along with his counterpart Mcsweeney who is on 38*
The deficit is in double digits and India needs to make quick inroads tomorrow early in the morning otherwise they will be playing the catching game for the rest of the test match.
Day 1 – Ind 1st Inn : 180/10 ( 44.1)
[ N Reddy 42 , KLR 37 ; M Starc 6-48 , Cummins 2-41]
Aus 1st Inn : 86/1 (33.0)[ Mcsweeney 38* , Labuschagne 20* ; Bumrah 1-13 ]
