India secured a 1-0 advantage in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy following a commanding 295-run victory against Australia in the opening Test of the five-match series held in Perth. The Indian team required just two wickets in the final session of Day 4, accomplishing this in a mere five overs. This triumph also marked the conclusion of Australia’s unbeaten run at the Optus Stadium, Perth, which had persisted since 2018. The performance was particularly impressive for the Indian side, especially in light of their recent 3-0 series loss to New Zealand, and the absence of two pivotal players, captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.
India's dismal performance in the first innings
On the opening day, India faced a challenging start as Australia successfully bowled them out for a total of 150 runs, with Josh Hazlewood achieving an impressive four-wicket haul. Australia’s fast bowlers maintained their dominance over India, dismissing them in the 50th over itself during the opening day of the series in Perth. Josh Hazlewood claimed the wickets of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshit Rana, adding to the two he secured earlier in the morning. Meanwhile, Mitchell Marsh and Pat Cummins each took two wickets in the session following lunch, effectively concluding India’s batting performance.
Nitish Kumar Reddy made a notable debut, contributing a determined 41 runs during a brief partnership of 48 runs with Rishabh Pant, who scored 37. Additionally, KL Rahul demonstrated resilience and sound batting technique, although he was controversially dismissed for 26 runs, being adjudged caught behind.
Jasprit Bumrah's five wicket haul destroys Australian batting lineup
Jasprit Bumrah achieved the record of being only the fifth Indian captain to secure a five-wicket haul in Test matches, leading India to dismiss Australia for a mere 104 runs and establishing a first-innings advantage of 46 runs. This lead could have been greater had it not been for a resilient last-wicket partnership between Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, which accounted for 25 runs, marking the most significant response from Australia. The duo occupied the crease for 18 overs to accumulate those runs before Starc was dismissed just before the Lunch break.
Bumrah commenced his spell by dismissing debutant Nathan McSweeney leg before wicket in the third over, successfully delivering a fuller ball that seamed back in. A review was necessary to confirm the dismissal of the opener. Just two deliveries later, he appeared to celebrate the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne, who was caught for a duck, but his joy was short-lived as Virat Kohli dropped an easy catch at second slip.
Bumrah persisted in delivering unplayable balls to Labuschagne, who repeatedly found himself squared up and outmaneuvered. Meanwhile, as Usman Khawaja began to find his rhythm against Mohammed Siraj from the opposite end, Bumrah switched to round the wicket and bowled a short, angled delivery that veered away, resulting in an outside edge that was comfortably caught by Kohli.
Travis Head was in just the situation where he thrives and counter-attacks, but Rana’s round the stumps angle did him in. Rana got one to angle in and straighten a touch to beat the outside edge of Head’s bat and knock back the stumps to pick his maiden Test wicket.
Mohammed Siraj also subsequently made his mark by dismissing both Mitchell Marsh and Labuschagne, reducing Australia to six wickets down. Marsh faced a delivery that was back of a length, which straightened unexpectedly, resulting in an edge that flew to third slip, where KL Rahul executed a remarkable low catch.
As the session neared the end, Bumrah returned for another spell and struck for the fourth time to dismiss his opposite number Pat Cummins caught behind. Josh Hazlewood and Starc navigated through multiple close calls to thwart India’s efforts. They successfully weathered a persistent 13-over spell from Bumrah and Rana, prompting India to bring in Mohammed Siraj and Nitish Reddy. As the ball aged and Starc remained at the crease, he increasingly found the middle of the bat with confidence. Concurrently, Hazlewood adeptly evaded the short deliveries that the fast bowlers consistently directed at him, aided by a leg slip positioned nearby. Collectively, they propelled Australia beyond the 100-run mark before getting all out on 104 and leaving India with a lead of 46 runs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal's and Virat Kohli' centuries help India gather a massive lead
Yashasvi Jaiswal maintained his impressive form in 2024 by achieving his fourth Test century, marking his first against Australia, as India asserted their dominance in the first Test in Perth. At Lunch, Jaiswal was not out on 141, contributing to the visitors’ total of 103 runs in the session, with KL Rahul’s dismissal being the sole moment of optimism for Australia during the innings. However, Devdutt Padikkal and Jaiswal effectively prevented any further breakthroughs for the hosts.
KL Rahul and Jaiswal had continued from where they left off as they brought up the first 200-run opening stand for India in Australia. Yashasvi Jaiswal brought up his fourth Test century with a ramp over fine-leg for six. Jaiswal learnt his lesson from the first innings admirably well, as he intercepted the ball in the second innings off his backfoot more often than not which allowed him to ride the bounce off the deck. Rahul was, however, caught behind off Starc on 77.
Then came Virat Kohli, and unlike the first innings, he looked calm at the crease and left the ball alone outside the off-stump with ease on Sunday. He played some classic drives during his 143-ball knock and punished any loose deliveries and got to his fifty with a flick to mid-wicket. Sundar and Kohli continued to rotate the strike and managed to negate any tricks the pitch started to play before the former attempted a wild slog-sweep off Nathan Lyon but only saw his stumps rattled. Despite that, Australia were visibly weary having spent the better part of two days on the field under 34 degrees of heat in Western Australia.
This moment marked a turning point for the Indian team, as Nitish displayed his aggressive intent by hitting a six over backward square off Mitchell Marsh, followed by three additional boundaries in Marsh’s subsequent over. This surge in momentum also allowed Kohli to flourish, as he struck a six straight down the ground off Lyon. The pair consistently found the boundary against a dispirited Australian side until Kohli executed a sweep to fine-leg for four runs, which secured his century. India declared immediately setting target of 533.
Australia fail to chase the target and India marks a historic win
Nathan McSweeney’s unfortunate Test debut concluded with his dismissal for a duck, as he was unable to handle a nip-backer from Jasprit Bumrah. Meanwhile, Pat Cummins, who had elevated himself to the role of night-watchman, was caught by Kohli in the slips off a delivery from Mohammed Siraj. In the final over of the day, Marnus Labuschagne was adjudged leg before wicket after failing to offer a shot to Bumrah. India now requires seven wickets over the next two days to secure a win.
Australia, having ended Day 3 at 12 for 3, entered Day 4 facing an imposing target of 510 runs. Their situation worsened when Mohammed Siraj induced Usman Khawaja to top-edge a pull shot, which was caught by Rishabh Pant. Travis Head, scoring 89, formed a partnership of 62 runs with Steve Smith, followed by an 82-run collaboration with Mitchell Marsh, who contributed 47 runs. Head appeared at ease as he executed his shots, while Smith adapted his technique, opting to remain still rather than shuffling outside his off-stump, patiently waiting for the ball to approach him.
However, Smith fell to Siraj outside offstump while Bumrah brought himself into the attack, and picked up Head’s crucial wicket in his first over after Lunch. Marsh chopped one on to his stumps off Nitish Reddy while Mitchell Starc fell to a stunning catch by Dhruv Jurel at forward short leg on the stroke of Tea. Nathan Lyon, who came in right after the Tea break, was bowled for a duck off his second delivery as he missed a straight one by Washington Sundar after playing for the turn. Alex Carey hung around for a while and also frustrated India briefly as he scored 36 before being castled by Harshit Rana, the wicket which sealed the win for the visitors shortly after the Tea break.
The hosts were left with an astronomical task with two days to go, and it proved a step too far for them as India bundled them out for 238 sealing a historic win for the tourists Down Under while claiming a lead of 1-0 in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
SCORECARD: India 150 (Nitish Kumar Reddy 41, Rishabh Pant 37; Josh Hazlewood 4-29, Mitchell Marsh 2-12) and 487/6 decl. (Yashasvi Jaiswal 161, Virat Kohli 100*, KL Rahul 77; Nathan Lyon 2-96) beat Australia 104 (Mitchell Starc 26, Alex Carey 21; Jasprit Bumrah 5-30, Harshit Rana 3-48) and 238 (Travis Head 89, Mitchell Marsh 47; Jasprit Bumrah 3-42, Mohammed Siraj 3-51) by 295 runS.
