Australia restrict India to 233/6 at stumps on Day 1; Virat Kohli hits 74

By
Sneha Roy
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0

Adelaide: Half-century partnerships for Virat Kohli with Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane had put India in a solid position at the Adelaide Oval on Day 1 of the first Test on Thursday (December 17). But the India captain’s run-out triggered a collapse that saw the visitors go from 188/3 to 233/6 at stumps. 

India would have hoped for the lower middle-order to step up after Kohli’s dismissal against the run of play on 74. That did not materialise, however, with Australia’s pacemen causing damage with the second new ball. Mitchell Starc had Rahane trapped lbw in the first over after the new ball was taken. Hanuma Vihari was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood two overs later to leave India at 206/6.

R Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha then survived a testing passage of play to rally through to stumps without further damage. Earlier in the day, Kohli won the toss and opted to bat first. The India skipper has a tremendous record when winning the toss, winning 21 of the 25 such matches prior to this without ever losing a game.

It wasn’t all great for India early on as Starc cleaned up Prithvi Shaw off an inside edge with the second delivery of the day, bringing Pujara to the crease.

With some stringent bowling with the new ball, India found run-scoring tough, but Mayank Agarwal and Pujara focused on batting themselves in. The first boundary in the innings came in the 10th over when Agarwal drove a rare half-volley from Hazlewood for four. 

Pat Cummins sent back Agarwal with a nip-backer, shortly after setting him up with a series of good length balls that either moved away or straightened off the seam. The wicket brought skipper Kohli to the wicket. 

With a terrific record at Adelaide Oval in Test cricket, Kohli was Australia’s primary threat and he lived up to the billing with an outstanding half-century. Kohli was in control right from the onset and appeared to be in command as he and Pujara resuscitated the innings after two early blows. 

After 30 overs of pace, Nathan Lyon came into the attack with the middle-order duo fairly settled at the wicket. Pujara revealed his intentions early by stepping out against the spinner whenever he chose to go full. The attritional battle between Pujara and Lyon continued until the Australia spinner extracted turn and bounce from a length to find the inside edge that lobbed into the hands of short leg.

Rahane joined Kohli at the crease and the two kept India on top with another solid stand. While Rahane’s first boundary took some time coming, he opened up soon after and even took Cummins’ short ball on, pulling him in front of square for a six. With the partnership closing in on a century, a moment of madness saw the back of the Indian skipper.

Pushing Lyon to mid-off, Rahane took off for a non-existent single which Kohli responded to, only for the vice-captain to back out, leaving Kohli stranded. The massive breakthrough, right before the second new ball became available, gave the hosts an opening and they took it with both hands. 

Brief Scores: India 233/6 (Virat Kohli 74, Cheteshwar Pujara 43, Ajinkya Rahane 42; Mitchell Starc 2/49, Pat Cummins 1/42) vs Australia. Match to continue. 

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