In the first Test of this year’s Border-Gavaskar series, the Australian cricket team was thumped by India, losing by 295 runs at Optus Stadium in Perth. The match was the first of five Tests to be played between the two cricket heavyweights this summer.
What happened
In the first innings of the match, Australia looked to be on top, bowling India all out for 150. However, it quickly became clear that the test wouldn’t be an Australian walkover, as India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah took a five-wicket haul and played an integral role in decimating Australia’s batting order for 105 runs.
A classy batting display from India in the second innings, including 161 runs from 22-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal and a 30th Test century from veteran Virat Kohli, put India over 500 runs ahead of the Aussies. Despite having two days to bat, the run chase never looked within reach for Australia after losing three wickets before the end of the third day. Travis Head was Australia’s best batsman with 89 runs.
Australia’s top four batsmen (Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Nathan McSweeney, and Marnus Labushagne) created some unwanted history by becoming the lowest-scoring top four for Australia in a Test match.
Bumrah was named the Player of the Match for his bowling performance which saw him take eight wickets across the two innings.
What they said
Jaiswal said: “For me all the centuries are amazing but this will be special because I really wanted to do it. I worked so hard for it, in every practice session. I wanted to score runs here in Australia”.
Australian captain Pat Cummins said: “Not an ideal way to start the summer. You sit in the change room after a loss like that and it hurts. When a team declares on you it’s never an amazing feeling… The biggest challenge and the most important thing is how do you bounce back, what’s your next move. That’s what we need to do this week.”
What’s next?
The second Test will begin on 6 December in Adelaide.
