Matt Renshaw proved he has the stomach for a fight by making a mature half-century after retiring due to illness and Mitchell Starc’s late onslaught gave Australia hope on day one of the first Test against India in Pune.
Advertisement
Brief scores: Australia 153/4 in 63 overs (David Warner 38, Matt Renshaw 37 no, Steve Smith 27, Peter Handscomb 22).
For India, the bulk of the bowling was done by their spin trump card Ashwin, who opened the attack with Ishant Sharma.
Renshaw was suffering from a stomach bug, and after being summoned back to explain himself to the umpires, he ran off the field about 15 minutes before the lunch break, retired hurt for 36.
With the spinners failing to break the partnership, Kohli threw the ball to his fast bowler Umesh Yadav, who responded in his very first over by ending Warner’s 74-ball vigil.
Renshaw came back to bat in the second session after the fall of the third wicket. It all happened in the 1st session of the series-opening Test between India and Australia here today (February 23). India’s ex-captain Sourav Ganguly has predicted a 4-0 win for the hosts while veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh has called Smith’s team the weakest ever Australian squad.
They might have folded quicker than a house of cards the last time they toured India and in their recent trip to Sri Lanka, but this is clearly a much more resolute Australian side.
Ashwin, in particular, has been turning the ball at will.
Smith survived 95 balls before charging down the wicket and chipping a catch straight to opposing captain Virat Kohli at midwicket, gifting Ashwin his first wicket of the game. Umesh Yadav has struck in his first over as India’s wait for the breakthrough comes to an end. The MCA stadium in Pune becomes the 25th Test venue in India. Australia clearly dominates the record with 40 wins while India have emerged victor is just 24 matches.
Advertisement
Steve Smith did not hesitate a bit as he elect to bat on the pitch that will assist the spinners from day one.
