The first day of the opening Test match between India and Australia lived up to all the pre-series hype. On a bowler-friendly surface at the MCA Stadium in Pune, both teams traded blows frequently, but it will be the visitors who will feel pleased with their day’s work. The visitors opted to bat first after their captain won the toss and finished the opening day at a respectable 256-9.
On the eve of the match, the pitch appeared dry, brown and abrasive in nature and it was expected that spinners would get plenty of assistance. Very early on the opening day, the Indian spinners got the ball grip the surface and extracted some extra bounce at times. India duly handed the new ball at one end to Ravichandran Ashwin, who tested the Australian openers early on.
But it was the opening pair of David Warner and Matt Renshaw who walked away with the early honours. The two left-handers no doubt survived some anxious moments, but they were ready to play the waiting game, and only played their strokes once when the bowlers erred. The pair added 40 runs in the first hour, and accelerated thereafter, adding 42 more runs before they were separated. The opening pair added 82 before Warner, who was lucky to earn a reprieve on 20, dragged one onto his stumps in the 28th over.
Australia suffered a double blow at that stage when Renshaw joined Warner on the walk back to the dressing room – with what was reported to be an upset stomach. The Indian bowlers gleefully took the opening that was presented to them and took control of proceedings at this stage. The Australian batsmen who followed, showed none of the application one saw from the openers; from 82-1, the visitors slumped to 123-8 and thereafter were reduced to 205-9.
Australia almost made a hash of the advantage they had of batting first when they were reduced to 205-9 and could have been bowled shortly thereafter. But a rearguard fight back from Mitchell Starc, who scored his ninth half-century in Test cricket, helped Australia save the blushes.
Starc raced to his half-century in just 47 balls and added 51 runs in the company of last-man Josh Hazlewood. The last-wicket pair took full toll of the second-new ball, scoring 45 runs in 10.1 overs. The Australian camp will hope the last wicket pair can add a few more on the second morning and take them closer to 300.
The one other impressive performance in the visitors’ line-up came from Matt Renshaw, who scored a confident 68 and is currently the top-scorer in the innings. The left-hander, on his first Test tour of India, looked assured at the crease, impressed with his handling of the spinners, with his footwork and his application.
The 20-year old got off the mark in a cheeky fashion, when Ishant Sharma’s first delivery found the outside edge and split the gap in the slip cordon. But thereafter, he played well within himself and almost nearly shut off one side of the ground. It was a risky ploy to close off the off-side of the ground, but it worked very well for Renshaw on the day.
The left-hander, who retired to the dressing room when on 36, returned to score his second Test half-century, thereby becoming the youngest Australian to score a Test half-century in India.
The other success story of the day was Umesh Yadav, who finished the day as India’s most successful bowler. On a warm day and bowling on a turner, Umesh executed his spells brilliantly. He was denied the new ball and wasn’t brought on to bowl until the 28th over.
But once he got the ball in his hand, he didn’t waste the opportunity. The fast bowler ran in hard every single time, maintained an average speed of 140 kph, generally kept the ball in the right areas and asked plenty of questions. He struck with his third delivery when he lured David Warner into a drive and had the ball taking the inside edge on to the stumps.
After a brief spell in the second session, he came back for a third spell in the final session and struck with his fourth delivery, this time dismissing Matthew Wade leg before wicket. There was more to come; in the fourth over of that spell, he struck twice, dismissing Steve O’Keefe and Nathan Lyon off consecutive deliveries.
The 29-year old from Nagpur was sensational on the opening day. On day two, he will have the opportunity to convert his 4-32 to his second five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Will he be able to do it?
How long will the Australian tail wag? You can follow live updates from the second day’s play on our live blog here.
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