Toss: AUS chose to bat. AUS: 177 & 91. IND: 400. IND won by an inning and 132 runs.
The best format of cricket returns to the subcontinent bringing one of the greatest red-ball rivalries of all time - The Border Gavaskar Trophy. The first test kicked off at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on 10th February.
Fueled by skipper Rohit Sharma’s phenomenal century and fifers by Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin in the 1st and 2nd innings respectively, India bundled Australia in the post-lunch session on Day 3 and convincingly defeated them by an inning and 132 runs. Ravindra Jadeja was adjourned man of the match for his match-winning figures of 5/47, 70(185), & 2/34.
Pitch Problems
A couple of days before the first ball was bowled, photos of the “controversial” Nagpur pitch began circulating on the internet. The pitch wasn’t by any means unplayable and “doctored” in a way to target the Australian batting lineup. Admittedly, the pitch was prepared in a unique way certain areas were watered and rolled and other areas were left unwatered. But, the Australian media made a bigger deal of the pitch than it actually was.
Mid-pitch was watered and heavily rolled with only the left half of the pitch post-full-length watered. This can have a few disadvantages for a left-hand batsman. The left half of the pitch that was watered would get softer and succumb to rough footmarks. Anyone who has watched a test match, especially in the subcontinent knows how rough footmarks can prove to be lethal for the batsmen. And the dry right half would aid the spinners giving them more spinners attacking the left-handers both from the offside and on-side. But, this was absolutely a playable pitch, Axar and Jadeja proved this.
Indian Accuracy Bamboozles Australia
Right from the first ball, Indian bowlers attacked the stumps and got the results for their accuracy. 8 out of the 10 dismissals in the first innings were either lbw or bowled. It looked like the Aussies had no answer for the Indian spinners. Everyone except for Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Peter Handscommb, and Alex Carey failed to pass single figures. With 3 ducks, Australia was bowled out for 177 in the first innings.
The tale of the second innings was no different. 7 dismissals were lbw or bowled, but here, Smith batted till the end and everyone else failed. Indian bowlers smothered Australia to get a commanding victory.
Datawise, Indian bowlers kept bowling at the Goodish-Full length and targeted the stumps consistently. When pacers do this, it is obviously difficult to tackle, but when spinners attack the stumps consistently, it becomes virtually impossible to score runs. Now when the bowlers cut off the runs, batsmen have to find ways to score, and against good bowling, more often than not, the result is wickets. And this was the story of the match, the Australians couldn’t find a way to score without losing wickets. An over-defensive approach didn’t work for the visitors, which wasn’t a surprise, as it hasn’t worked for anyone in the subcontinent.
Murphy Mutilates Indian Batting
Australia went into the match with 2 spinners - the veteran Nathan Lyon and a debutant - Todd Murphy. Todd Murphy went on a rampage to take 7 wickets on debut, getting the likes of KL Rahul, Pujara, Kohli, and Jadeja. His bowling style is unique and threatens the batsmen consistently. He has a very Jadeja-esque run-up which gives him a nice release point. And interestingly, his release is a combination of Graeme Swann and Shane Warne. This gives him the ability to skid the ball and spin it both ways. But no one expected him to be so good in his first international match. He beat everyone comprehensively and no one other than Rohit, Axar, and Jadeja looked comfortable against him for long. He also succeeded in keeping up Virat Kohli’s record of getting dismissed by almost every debutant he’s played against.
Rohit's Impressive Home Run
Since 2018, Rohit Sharma has scored 1128 runs in 18 innings at an average of 66.35. This is an incredible stat for the subcontinent. Especially the types of pitches India has made for the past few years make it difficult for players to score more runs. This is why it is so impressive. And skipper Rohit’s incredible form resumed this Border Gavaskar Trophy. He scored a mighty impressive 120 in the only innings India batted in. He held together the batting lineup as he built impressive partnerships with various partners and took India to a commanding total. It took the delivery of the match by Pat Cummins to dismiss him.
A 3-day Affair
The highly anticipated Nagpur test ended in just 3 days as India demolished Australia to win by an innings and 132 runs. This was disappointing for many, including me. All of us expected a highly competitive affair and were still hungover from the incredible 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy, but the first match in no way was competitive. Australia had two batting collapses and was never in the game. India leads the series 1-0, one step closer to securing a spot in the ICC World Test Championship Final. Remember, India needs to win the series to qualify, 2-0, 2-1, 3-0, 3-1, or 4-0 would give India a spot in the finals. But, if India whitewash Australia, and Sri Lanka wins 2-0 against New Zealand, Sri Lanka will qualify instead of Australia.
We go back to Delhi, to the Arun Jaitley Stadium after many years for a test match. This should be a promising affair, as this also is Cheteshwar Pujara’s 100th test match. I’ll see you in the second match review.
Player Rankings (1-10)
Australia
David Warner - 1/10
Usman Khawaja - 1/10
Marnus Labuschagne - 6/10
Steve Smith - 7/10
Matt Renshaw - 1/10
Peter Handscomb - 5/10
Alex Carey - 5/10
Pat Cummins (c) - 5/10
Todd Murphy - 8/10
Nathan Lyon - 7/10
Scott Boland - 6/10 Pat Cummins Captaincy Rating - 5/10
India
Rohit Sharma (c) - 9/10
KL Rahul - 4/10
Cheteshwar Pujara - 1/10
Virat Kohli - 1/10
Suryakumar Yadav - 1/10
Ravindra Jadeja (MOTM) - 10/10
KS Bharat - 2/10
Axar Patel - 8/10
Ravichandran Ashwin - 9/10
Mohammed Shami - 8/10
Mohammed Siraj - 7/10
Rohit Sharma Captaincy Rating - 7/10
As you see, I've rated most batsmen from both teams pretty low, because most of them failed to make an impact in this match. Yes, the pitch played a role, but it was certainly not a pitch where scoring was impossible. Rohit Sharma showed this with his batting masterclass. Aussie bowlers did well, but the batting didn't score enough runs to help them put up a fight. With India, except for Rohit, no full-time batsman scored big runs, Axar and Jadeja came to the rescue as they often do. And of course, Indian spinners were flawless.
תגובות