Click it and Unblock the Notifications
1. Ashwin to the fore
The off-spinner was the most successful and the most economical bowler for India on the day as suggested by his figures 33-9-50-3. But beyond those figures, Ashwin dished out an uninterrupted spell of 22 overs on either side of the morning and noon sessions and scalped three Australian left-handers - Marcus Harris, Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja. Harris and Marsh were done in by loose drives much like their Indian counterparts while Khawaja was deceived by his and turn and bounce to give a catch to Rishabh Pant behind the wicket.
2. Ishant, Bumrah bottle up Aussies
Playing with only four bowlers, it was mandatory that every member of the bowling unit should chip in for India. Ishant Sharma produced a wicket in the very first over - a fine inswinger that rearranged Aaron Finch's wickets after taking a faint inside edge. At 0/1, Australia were given the message that the day was going to be a tough one for them. On the contrary, Jasprit Bumrah began rather profligately conceding 24 runs in his first 5 overs. He often strayed onto the pads or gave width for cuts but made a brilliant comeback later for a combined spell of 15-9-10-2. Not surprisingly, Australia's run rate remained a trickle - 2.17 and it was their second lowest in the first innings of a home Test since 1990.
3. Shami disappoints
16-6-51-0, run-rate 3.18. Unlike Bumrah, Mohammed Shami went off the block impressively 4-3-1-0 but it got progressively worse for the pacer. Perhaps, it might have to do with a discomfort on his right shoulder that was attended to by the team physio at one stage. But whatever the reason may be, Shami struggled to find the fire and aim on this day and Peter Handscomb punished him for three boundaries in one over - an overhead pull, a lovely square drive and a clip off the pads. Australia are 59 behind now and India would like to close out their innings before they get any closer and hopefully Shami would discover the right gear on the morrow and in the second innings for India can ill afford a bowler malfunctioning in a four-bowler set up.
4. Head props up Australia
Travis Head (61 off 149 balls, 6x4) was the immovable force for Australia much like Cheteshwar Pujara was for India yesterday. The going was never smooth, but the left-hander handled the pressure and Indian bowlers quite beautifully. Ashwin was on the spot against the southpaws, but Head negated the offie with a combination of surefootedness and swift hands. Australia were in deep trouble at 127 for six when Pat Cummins walked in, trailing at that stage by 123 runs. India might have been hoping to get a lead in the vicinity of 100 then but Head combined with Cummins to add 50 runs for the seventh wicket that helped Australia cover some distance. Now, Australia's hopes of getting closer to 250 or going beyond it rests on Head's longevity on the morrow.
