Having rattled Australia with a brilliant burst of bowling on Friday afternoon, India flexed its muscles with the bat in markedly different conditions on the second day of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Perth.
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After 17 wickets fell for 217 runs on the opening day, the only three wickets to fall on Saturday were the remaining Australian batters left.
With Mitchell Starc showing significant fight in the first session, Australia added another 37 runs before being bowled out for 104, leaving India with a 46-run advantage after the first innings in front of a record crowd for a Test match in Perth of 32,368.
The opening combination of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is unbeaten on 90, and KL Rahul, who is not out on 62, then batted superbly to steer India to a score of 0-172 at stumps, extending their advantage to 208 runs.
‘Seized an opportunity’ Day 2 review | 02:35
‘DEFINITELY A LOSS’: GREEN SORELY MISSED
As David Warner assessed the relative ease with which India’s opening combination handled the final two sessions of the second day in Perth, he noted the absence of injured all-rounder Cameron Green due to injury could prove a game-changer in the series.
That is not to downplay the efforts of Mitch Marsh, who secured two wickets in the first innings and strived with all his might on a dry day for the Australian attack.
Indeed, there was a gasp of relief when he returned to the attack late on Saturday following concerns the reigning Allan Border Medallist might have injured himself when overstepping the mark in the third over of his initial spell leading into tea.
Marsh has not bowled anywhere near as much in recent years due to injury issues and is more than capable. But according to Warner, the Western Australian no longer has the capacity to bang the ball in short with the fire and fury of his younger teammate.
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“Is this where Australia miss Cameron Green’s big bursts of bouncers? (It is) just that Mitch Marsh can’t quite do that. He doesn’t have that height or probably that 5km/h more (of speed),” Warner said.
While Green proved especially valuable with the bat when promoted to No. 4 for the series in New Zealand at the end of last summer, Fox Cricket expert Mike Hussey said his bowling is likely to be badly missed this summer.
“Cameron Green’s definitely a loss to this Australian team. He had so much flexibility,” he said.
“His bowling was high-quality. (It was a) heavy ball. He can pitch the ball up and look for swing and seam, but he can also give you a burst of that short-pitched stuff, and it’s tough to face.”
FROM TIGERISH TO TOOTHLESS
Anyone who witnessed the carnage that unfolded at Perth Stadium on Friday must have wondered whether there was a venue switch for the second day.
For after 17 wickets fell on the first day of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, they scarcely came with a flurry on the second day, despite initial fears when Indian skipper Jasprit Bumrah removed Alex Carey with his first delivery of the day.
The only wickets to fall were Carey, a gallant Mitch Starc and Nathan Lyon.
As Australian great Mark Waugh said, “it was two different games of cricket”. And with his confidence rising, young Indian star Jaiswal had the confidence to tell Starc as the day progressed that his deliveries were “coming too slow”.
Why the wickets dried up is a matter of conjecture, though some of Fox Cricket’s panel of expert analysts were not certain the opening day pitch was much more than just a challenging wicket with some sideways movement rather than being unplayable.
It is notable that when the sun rose on Saturday, it brought with it a more traditional late Spring day in Perth. After a week of unusual weather — there were storms, cool nights and heavy humidity — the heat and dry air has returned to the Western Australian capital.
“You can only assume that the day has perhaps taken a bit of moisture out of it, not that it was a soft wicket,” Gilchrist said.
“(It is) slightly warmer today (and there is) maybe not quite the humidity that was around, which was a little bit higher yesterday than typically at this time of year. It’s hard to put your finger on exactly what it is. It has just flattened out, maybe just dried out a little bit.”
With the wicket more benign, India’s opening combination of Jaiswal and KL Rahul held their nerve throughout the middle session without offering a chance and played with more flair later in the day, though there were signs of reverse swing.
In terms of balls faced, it was the most by an Indian opening combination in Australia since 2004.
Jaiswal’s ‘too slow’ Mitchell Starc jab | 00:30
Jaiswal showed great discipline for a player with a reputation for being a superb stroke maker, though he opened up after passing 50 and smacked Nathan Lyon for a six that was measured to travel 100 metres in the last 30 minutes of the day.
Warner was impressed with his ability to switch gears and described him as the “complete” package as an opener.
Gilchrist declared Jaiswal the standout performer of the day and was impressed with his approach to his second innings in Australia.
“Those who have seen him play know that he’s quite an attacking player. He lights up the IPL, but even in Test cricket in India, he’s been the real aggressor,” Gilchrist told foxsports.com.au.
“He has a high (number) of sixes in his career in a short space of time, so to show the application and commitment to form that partnership that was so vitally important for India’s case has been really impressive.”
Before he reached 50, Usman Khawaja was unable to snare a chance from Jaiswal off the bowling of Starc, with Waugh believing it had carried far enough for the first slip to snare it.
A ball later, Steve Smith failed to throw down the stumps after KL Rahul took off down the pitch from the non-strikers end, only to be sent back by his partner.
As testing a day as Saturday proved for Australia, it could become even more challenging. Both Gilchrist and Michael Vaughan predict the pitch will begin to crack as the Test continues, a point also made by Starc after play on Friday night.
“Probably concerningly for the Australians, just in the last half-hour it seems a couple of cracks have just come in, and a few have just kept a little bit lower, so that’s going to be front of mind when they’re batting as well,” Gilchrist said.
Starc’s cheeky CHIRP at IPL teammate | 00:12
SPICY STARC AND THE ‘FERRET’
Starc had bristled on Friday night when quizzed as about the quality of the pitch and then backed up his point with a grinding display with the bat on Saturday.
The Aussie quick acknowledged the wicket would be testing with the red ball but was adamant that if batters could wear the shine off the ball, they could thrive. And so it proved.
“When the ball started to get a little bit softer towards the back end of that Indian innings, it probably didn’t do as much. (There) still was enough there, but it didn’t do as much as the brand new hardball,” he said.
“So I guess that’s something for teams to take in the second innings. If you can get through the testing period, it does get slightly easier.”
With strong discipline, the veteran guided Australia beyond a couple of infamous targets – first avoiding the lowest Test score at home and then lowest against India – and then into triple figures.
He farmed the strike with distinction with Josh Hazlewood, who offered a chance early on in the partnership but proved a willing ally, as the Aussies survived almost the entire first session.
Starc, who eventually fell for 26 when top-edging the impressive Harshit Rana to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, survived 112 balls and earned praise from Fox Cricket expert Mike Hussey, who declared it was “good to see a bit of old-fashioned Test cricket”.
“He is playing well. This is proper batting,” Hussey said.
Mitchell Starc of Australia. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
It was the most balls he had faced in an innings since scoring a 99 against India in 2013 in distinctly different circumstances in Mohali.
The 34-year-old, who top-scored for Australia with 26 in the first innings, faced 112 balls in total. In comparison, the Australian top six managed to face only five more balls in total.
Starc was also prepared to take on his rival paceman, firing some words back to his Kolkata Knight Riders teammate Harshit Rana after being subjected to some short-pitched bowling.
“I bowl faster than you and I’ve got a long memory,” Starc said, admittedly with a smile.
The Starc and Hazlewood partnership of 25 was Australia’s most productive and prompted Fox Cricket expert Kerry O’Keeffe to alter his opinion on the latter’s skills with the bat.
When praising the method with which Starc held the strike, O’Keeffe offered a description of Hazlewood in commentary which drew laughs from his colleagues.
“He has got a ferret at the other in. Yeah, a ferret. They go in after the rabbits. Hunters in the old days, they used to send the ferret in after the rabbit,” he said.
When told that Hazlewood averaged over 11 with the bat, O’Keeffe offered a more generous critique.
“He is not a ferret. Anything under five (counts as a ferret), but if he is double that, he is all right,” he said.
Australia’s Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFPSource: AFP
‘IT DEFLATES HIM’: AUSSIE GREAT’S WARNING FOR LYON
Before this week’s Test, Australian spinner Nathan Lyon boasted a superb record at Perth Stadium, taking 27 wickets at 18.00 in four matches.
The veteran tweaker has relied on overturn on Australia’s pace-friendly decks — and there’s no bouncier venue in the country than Perth Stadium.
However, the 37-year-old failed to unearth a breakthrough on day two in the West Australian capital, finishing day two with figures of 0-38. When the ball showed signs of reverse swing, he was rested from the attack.
Speaking on Fox Cricket commentary, O’Keeffe warned Lyon against relying too much on bounce, encouraging the New South Welshman to focus on drifting the Kookaburra.
When India previously toured Australia in 2020/21, Lyon struggled to tame India’s world-class batters, taking nine wickets at 55.11 across the series.
“I thought he got consumed with bounce in the last series here against India (in 2020/21), and he averaged 55 (runs) per wicket,” O’Keeffe said.
“When I met Lyon out in the middle (before play on Saturday) … I said to him, ‘I think you should concentrate on drift this summer’.
“He said, ‘I’m a bounce bowler.’ He did get consumed with trying to bounce it in the last series, and India got on top of him. He can drift it, we know that. He’s got to bowl from the right end where there’s wind to assist him drifting away from the right-hander and we might see the best of him.”
Nathan Lyon of Australia. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
After 17 wickets fell on the opening day of the Perth Test, India’s second innings got underway in the afternoon session of day two, at which point the pitch had hardly deteriorated.
There were no footmarks for Lyon to target on the batting paradise, with the flat deck offering little to no assistance.
“He’s out there every morning looking for scarring, and there’s no scarring yet,” O’Keeffe continued.
“It deflates him. He wants Mitchell Starc to create something for him, and there’s nothing yet.”
THE BENEVOLENT BUMRAH?
Given the dominant position India finds itself in at stumps on Day 2 of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, India’s stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah has every reason to feel delighted with how the past four sessions of the first Test have unfolded.
After India was bowled out for 150, Bumrah’s brilliance with the ball on Friday afternoon gave his nation the upper hand, with expert analysts declaring him the best bowler in the world.
After snaring the wicket of Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey with his first ball on Saturday, the 30-year-old finished with 5-30 from 18 overs.
Barring an edge off an exceptional delivery to Josh Hazlewood that eluded keeper Rishabh Pant, Australia would have posted its lowest score against India on home soil.
Perhaps the only flaw to be found in Bumrah’s performance to date is his field placements as Starc and Hazlewood combined for a defiant final wicket partnership on Saturday. But given it was only 25 runs, it caused little damage on the scoreboard.
Bumrah takes out Carey with first ball | 00:42
India’s bowler Jasprit Bumrah. Photo by COLIN MURTY / AFPSource: AFP
But Fox Cricket experts including former Australian captain Allan Border were perplexed by Bumrah’s willingness to allow the tailenders easy singles, with Starc in particular able to farm the strike.
“I find it to be a bit strange, to be honest. They could have been a lot more attacking and changed the field up and made the players, particularly Mitchell Starc, play the big shot,” he said.
But perhaps there was some method to the madness, for the ability of Starc and Hazlewood to survive relatively unchallenged for almost two hours demonstrated to the Indian top order that it was possible to bat on the wicket.
Gilchrist has no doubt the Indian top-order would have been boosted by the deeds of the tailenders, though he said the Aussies could also take some solace from the fact that the tourists still have a reliance on Bumrah.
“I think it proved a few things. Yes, there is an ability to get through and (if you) somehow survive your initial part of the innings, then you can prosper as you go along,” he said.
“The other thing it showed to a lesser extent — and I don’t see this as a weakness for India — but it certainly highlighted just how impactful Boomer is. He’s been very well supported by Siraj and Rana to this point of this game, but it just showed a little snapshot of just how reliant they are on Bumrah.
“Regardless of what happens in this Test match, thinking big picture, Australia will be able to take some sort of information away that … if they can see him out and lessen the damage, lighten the damage that he inflicts, then they might go a fair way to batting deeper in innings and creating a contest.”