Rohit Sharma Attacks After Ravindra Jadeja's 5-Fer; India Start Strong Against Australia In 1st Test
IND vs AUS: After Ravindra Jadeja registered an excellent comeback with his 11th five-wicket haul against Australia, Rohit Sharma led the batting charge from the front as India scored 77/1 at the end of Day 1, trailing by 100 runs in the 1st innings.
Rohit Sharma started things off in style as he smacked three boundaries in the very first over, taking on Australian captain Pat Cummins. While KL Rahul remained careful, Rohit Sharma dispatched poor deliveries for runs, not shying away from scoring in his first-ever Border Gavaskar Trophy Test as captain.
Captain Rohit Sharma brought up his 15th Test half-century and added 76 runs for the first wicket along with KL Rahul. Rahul on the other hand, scored 20 runs off 71 balls as Todd Murphy grabbed his first international Test wicket, also providing the opening breakthrough for the Australians. Ashwin was sent in as a night-watchman and would continue batting for India on Day 2 along with Rohit Sharma (56*).
Prior to India's inning, Ravindra Jadeja wreaked havoc on Australian batting as the visitors were bowled out for just 177 runs, 3.5 overs into the 3rd session. Marnus Labuschagne remained the top scorer for the visitors, scoring 49 runs with 8 boundaries. Steve Smith (37), Peter Handscomb (31) and Alex Carey (36) made contributions but failed to score big.
For India, Jadeja picked up 5 wickets while Ashwin registered 3 wickets. Pacers Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami gave an excellent start to India in the morning, reducing the opposition to 2/2. Smith and Labuschagne etched a partnership of 82 runs for the 3rd wicket but Jadeja's storm in the 2nd session dismantled the Australian batting.
Earlier, Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss & opted to bowl first against India in the 1st Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. This match is being played at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur.
Also Read: Cricket Tales