BGT: Test 1, Day 1

Short singles from the play as it unfolds

(As the strapline says, follows a compilation of random riffs, posted as the game unfolds. It’s my way of making notes for the end-of-play video review, really. Refresh once in a while for the latest updates).

8:10 IST: Some six days before the Test, I’d written a column on the makeup of the Indian team for the Border Gavaskar Trophy. A quote from that piece:

At the other end is Yashaswi Jaiswal -- a genuine talent, with the caveat that his game is built around the drive.

In Australia, where home bowlers hit the three-quarter length as default option to take advantage of the bounce, they have a saying that the only thing you get to drive is the car you come to the ground in.

With the first ball of his second over, Mitchell Starc hit that three quarter length. Jaiswal drove, bat meeting ball while his front foot was still going forward and the ball was climbing and shaping away. Ball met edge of bat high, closer to the maker’s label than the middle, and debutant Nathan McSweeney took the catch low in the gully. How predictable was that?

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8:30 IST: I can’t think of too many team selections that satisfied everyone — but even with that caveat, the playing XI picked for the first Test is surprising. Some of it is forced by circumstances — KL Rahul opening, Devdutt Padikkal at three and Dhruv Jurel at six. It’s the composition of the bowling lineup that makes you go huh?!

I’m not big into the ICC rankings, but that is the only official ranking we have, so I’ll stay with it. On that list, Ravichandran Ashwin is ranked number five and Ravindra Jadeja is ranked six. Neither are in the playing eleven at Perth — Washington Sundar is the sole spinner and, while it is early days yet, I suspect that is going to prove a handicap with Australia set to bat last.

And then there are the two newcomers — Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana. Nothing against either of them — but I suspect they were picked not just for their bowling but for potential contributions with the bat. Which is how you pick T20 teams, packing the lineup with as many all-rounders as you can, but Test cricket is a game for specialists; if you want to rate as an all-rounder, you should have the chops to play either as batter or bowler. A little of this and a little of that doesn’t cut it, not at this level.

As I write this, India is 14/1 after nine overs. And out there are two Karnataka players, KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal, neither of whom was part of the original squad selected — with, per media reports, coach Gautam Gambhir sitting in — for this tour.

8:45 IST: 22 deliveries of extreme discomfort, and then a predictable dismissal: Padikkal got a Josh Hazelwood delivery slanting across him that caught him on the forward move (almost like with Jaiswal), the bat reaching for ball in front of him for the predictable nick-off. 14/2 India, and two of the newbies to Australian conditions back in the dugout, both without scoring.

What do you suppose the mindset of a batsman is, who wasn’t considered good enough to be picked in the original squad, was asked to stay back when Team India realized, late in the day, that it had personnel problems, and then was asked to take a pivotal position that, in the past, had been held down by the likes of Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara?

9 AM: A bit puzzled by the number of times all four batters on view thus far have been caught on the forward move. None of the three Oz bowlers have hit express pace — they are bowling mostly in the mid-to-late 130s, so how come batters are moving late? The only explanation I can think of is that batters are tentative because of the bounce — or rather, not knowing just how much bounce there is — rather than the pace.

9:10 IST: An unwritten law of cricket commentary is that everything Virat Kohli does has to be accompanied by superlatives. Preferably in job lots. In the 16th over, to a better-than-length ball from Pat Cummins, Kohli came forward into a straight drive, bat met ball a bit early and not under the batter’s eye line, popped in the air for a bit and rolled towards the straight boundary before losing steam. Three to the batsmen, and props to the commentators for making a fairly ordinary shot sound like a Michaelangelo painting.

Next over, Kohli onto the front foot to a Hazelwood ball a touch short of length and rising; he sees the extra bounce way too late, tries first to fend it off and then to leave, and ends up taking the ball almost on the splice for a face-high catch to Usman Khawaja at first slip. 32/3 India, having volunteered to bat first.

9: 45 IST: Surprising quality, or lack of it, of television coverage on the KL Rahul dismissal. For a nick off, the first thing you look at after the front on view is the view from the point region, to check the point when ball passes bat which is in close proximity to the pad. Really bizarre that the broadcasters, with about three dozen cameras focussed on the action, didn’t have the side on view.

In any case, Starc in his second spell used the angle across the right hander. Got one ball to go away marginally; the second ball of the over was a classic left arm quick’s dismissal — ball landing on length, drawing the batsman forward, straightening, and taking the edge (or so the third umpire ruled, absent conclusive evidence to the contrary.)

Rahul alone of the batsmen on view thus far played with a modicum of control, not coming reflexively onto the front foot, staying mostly on top of the crease, playing late and under his eye-line.

Not saying the decision is demonstrably wrong; merely that there isn’t enough visual evidence to make a definitive call. India 47/4, on the cusp of lunch.

Lunch taken with India, having won the toss and opted to collapse, at 51/4 in 25 overs with Rishabh Pant (10 off 24 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (4 off 10, the four coming from a carve through slips to a full length ball outside off) at the crease.

10:50 IST: Why, I wondered, would Cummins open the second session with Mitchell Marsh instead of one of the frontline quicks? Got my answer six balls (including a no-ball) later. Marsh finally got his length up, hit the channel just around the off stump, hit the deck hard and seamed it fractionally away and Dhruv Jurel, neither fully forward nor back, edged through to Labuschagne at second slip. Clinical dismissal, and India 65/5.

11:10 IST: Okay, so Pat Cummins knows what he is about — Marsh just picked up another one. Again, an effort ball hitting the deck hard and rearing as it got to Washington Sundar on the slant across the left-hander; the batter was neither forward nor back as he hung his bat in front of him, and the nick-off was inevitable. 73/6.

11:40 IST: And now Oz bails out of reviewing when, even watching live, it looked out! Nitish Kumar Reddy was looking to glide a lifting ball from Starc off his rib cage down to fine leg, got it on the outside edge, and Carey caught the nick clean. Bowler and keeper were clear; Cummins — twice shy after being once bitten — decided not to take the one review left to the team after having burnt two, and Nitish and India got a life.

And immediately after, in Starc’s next over, Rishabh flailed at a delivery and put it high in the air; Cummins, running back, couldn’t quite judge and get under the swirling skier, and muffed the chance.

You could say India is living dangerously. You could equally say India’s 7th wicket pair is still living. Depends on whether you are a cup half full, or half empty, sort of chap.

Noon IST: Must say, after the underwhelming performance of the specialists, that the one life apart, Nitish Kumar Reddy looks good. Footwork is both early and decisive, he is meeting the ball right under his eye-line, and seems to have a good sense of which ball to attack and which to respect. (Not to jinx him, by the way, but I like what I am seeing of him thus far).

12.15 IST: For a guy who is the despair of purists and the delight of those who love a spectacle, Rishabh Pant’s end was somewhat tame. Cummins, who had earlier seen Pant scoop an off-stump half volley over backward square leg while flat on his back, bowled one on the fuller length and Pant, who would have flicked such deliveries to the fence 9 times out of ten, closed the bat face too early on the shot (or the ball came on a touch slower than he expected) and edged to Steve Smith at second slip. India 121/7.

12.20 IST: Make that eight — to one of those catches that, as the cliche goes, wins matches. Josh Hazelwood bowled a lifter in the channel; Rana was actually backing off when he fended at the ball — the edge went hard and fast to McSweeny’s left at third slip; the fielder got a hand to it but it bounced out and Labuschange, at second slip, grabbed it on the rebound. The kind of catch that combines good reflexes with the value of keeping your eye on the ball all the time. 128/8 India.

12:35 IST: That was clinical from Hazelwood. Bumrah was hanging back deep in his crease so the bowler went fuller in the channel — the full length dragged Bumrah’s bat and upper body forward while the legs were still back, and Carey took the nick-off low down to his side. 144/9

And, a minute later, Reddy gets his second life. This time, Reddy swiped at a Cummins delivery, put it high in the air towards the short midwicket region and Usman Khawaja (with sun in eye for excuse) flubbed the chance. He then hit a four to the next ball, and then Reddy put up yet another skier and this time, Khawaja held a much harder chance than the one he flubbed earlier in the over — covering considerable ground and taking the ball as it came down over his shoulder. India all out 150. The Indian innings ended 2 deliveries shot of 50 overs.

Hazelwood ends with four wickets with a typically incisive bowling display, while Cummins, Starc and Mitch Marsh end with two wickets each. And that is tea.

All in all, a team that opted to bat first on winning the toss will be bitterly disappointed with itself — and the batters only have themselves to blame (with the exception of Rahul, who can with justification feel hard done by).

13: 15 IST: And Bumrah — who else? — gets the first strike. On length or slightly better, with a shade of shape in the air and inward movement off the deck to take debutant McSweeney on the pad. The umpire ruled not out, likely for height; India reviewed, and Hawkeye showed the ball hitting middle and leg. 14/1 Australia.

Came damn close to making it two for the over, too, when he drew Marnus Labushangne forward, and found the edge with a fuller ball in the channel, only for Kohli at second slip to drop the sort of low, straight catch fielders in the cordon would take ten times out of ten.

13:30 IST: There is an unwritten rule that when you talk of India’s stars, whatever you say has to be festooned in superlatives. Bumrah deserves all the laudatory adjectives you can think of and then some, though — his opening spell here is a masterclass of pace and seam movement. Relentless length, sharp pace, every ball threatening either the outside edge, or the inner edge, pad and stumps. The man is a marvel. If every ball that deserved a wicket got one, Bumrah should have had three or four by now.

13.34 IST: And just as I hit send on that last post, Bumrah strikes again. What is most impressive is the thought process. Khawaja looked comfortable against the ball slanting across his body, so Bumrah, now into his fourth over, switched to around the wicket. Threatened the pads with a couple of deliveries, then went a touch wider on the crease, bowled just far enough back of length to make Khawaja uncertain about whether to go forward or back, and got the ball to straighten just enough to find the outer edge for Kohli to hold at midriff height.

The very next ball, back over the wicket and, given Smith’s exaggerated movement across the piece, Bumrah homed in on the pads and pinned the number four plumb in front of middle. This is a mind-bending display — the captain has single-handedly nullified Australia’s advantage. 19/3

14:00 IST: As good as Bumrah has bowled, Harshit Rana has produced arguably the ball of the evening. Likely the day. Just a bit fuller than length, quick as you like. Travis Head unsure whether to go forward or back, stays stuck on top of the crease, and the ball straightens at pace to hit top of off. Quick bowlers see such deliveries in their dreams. 32/4 Australia, and the one batsman capable of counter-punching taken out cheap. This is what India needed — support, and wickets, from the end opposite the one Bumrah is bowling from.

14:20 IST: A lesson you learn early on in your sportswriting career is to eschew judgments based on initial impressions. Case in point — when India lost its fourth wicket in just the 23rd over of its innings, I thought it was about as disastrous a start as I’ve seen in a long while. Australia lost its fourth wicket off the first ball of the 12th over — and keep in mind that while India fielded a makeshift batting lineup, Australia is a settled, experienced unit with the exception of debutant McSweeney — and they are playing at home, in conditions they’ve been reared on.

14:30 IST: Mohammed Siraj joins in. Wnt wide on the crease, angling in to the batsman from length, then straightening to find Mitch Marsh’s edge. KL Rahul at third slip goes low to his left to pull off a beauty, millimeters off the turf; the third umpire confirms that Rahul got his fingers under the ball as it hit the turf. 38/5 Australia, and in even greater strife than India was under.

14:35 IST: A counter-factual: What if India had bowled first and bundled Australia out? Would its relatively green batsmen have felt a lot more confident knowing they were chasing a smallish total? (Idle minds, devil’s workshops and all that).

14:50 IST: Marnus Labuschagne went to the wars. Bumrah and Nitish Rana battered his body and mind during a 52 ball stay in which he made a grand total of 2 runs, and then Siraj took him out with a delivery slanting into the batsman from wide of the crease, moving enough off the seam to beat the forward defensive push and thud into the pads. The batter reviewed, but that was hitting the middle of leg stump, and Australia now 47/6.

If you had told me, when the Indian innings folded on 150, that the tourists would take a lead, I’d have asked for some of whatever you were smoking. But that is exactly what seems likely to happen here.

15:00 IST: The pitch is behaving true to type for Australia. With the sun beating down on it, it has quickened appreciably by late into the second session and through this final session of play. And you know this by the way the ball is hitting the bat, rather than the other way around. Bumrah and Rana are both bowling in the mid to high 130k range; Siraj is in the high 130s with the odd ball topping 140k, and all three are hurrying the batters thanks to the assist they are getting from the wicket.

15:10 IST: And Bumrah, again. From slightly wide of the crease on length, gets the ball to straighten and find the edge of Pat Cummins. The Aussie captain was stuck on top of the crease, pushing a bit away from the body at a ball he wasn’t sure which way it was going to go. 59/7

15:25 IST: Bumrah came within inches of putting an exclamation mark at the end of a frenetic day of Test cricket when, with his last ball, he sent down a brilliantly disguised slower ball on middle and off to Starc. The batsman squared up and pushed in defense a touch early, the ball looped up, and dropped agonisingly short of the bowler on the follow through. In the event, Australia ends on 67/7 at close. At the pace this game is being played at, tomorrow could well determine the final outcome.