(Reuters) – Mitchell Starc took 4-53 as Australia ripped through the Indian tail in the first half an hour of play to dismiss the tourists for 244 on the second day of the day-night first test at Adelaide Oval last night.
India had resumed on 233-6 but were able to add only 11 runs for their last four wickets in 25 deliveries before heading back to the dressing room to prepare for the field.
Pat Cummins (3-48) removed Ravichandran Ashwin (15) caught behind with the third ball of the day and Wriddhiman Saha (9) departed in similar fashion in the next over after offering a poor shot to a Starc delivery.
Umesh Yadav slogged one four but another attempt spooned into the air for Matt Wade to take just wide of mid-on, giving Starc his fourth wicket.
Mohammed Shami was dismissed for a golden duck fending off a steepling Cummins delivery on the first ball of the following over.
“That’s probably as good as you could have a planned it through execution,” said Starc.
“It seems like (the wicket) was a bit quicker today and I guess our batters need to get their heads down and maybe borrow a bit from (India’s) discipline yesterday…”
Wade will open for the first time in test cricket as a replacement for the injured David Warner.
The day before India captain Virat Kohli forged two half-century partnerships to rescue his side against Australia before falling victim to an almighty mix-up on an attritional opening day of the day-night first test at Adelaide Oval today.
The right-hander sacrificed flair for efficiency in his industrious 74 as the tourists reached 233-6 at stumps after opting to bat in the series opener.
Starc removed the scoreless Prithvi Shaw with the second delivery of the day and Cummins castled fellow opener Mayank Agarwal (17) later in the opening session to give Australia a strong start to the four-match series.
Cheteshwar Pujara, Australia’s nemesis when India won their first series Down Under two years ago, proved more difficult to dislodge and eked out 43 runs from 160 deliveries before falling to Nathan Lyon.
“For a 300-plus total, it’s important to play well in the first two sessions,” Pujara said to explain his dour batting.
“The wicket was fresh, the bowlers were fresh, so you could not play your shots so early… it was important to be patient at that stage.”
The usually aggressive Kohli proved he could be an excellent accumulator too as he followed his 68-run partnership with the obdurate Pujara with an 88-run collaboration with deputy Rahane before being sold down the river.
Rahane’s indecision over a single resulted in Kohli being run out after a resolute knock which included eight fours.
On a day when boundaries were scarce against Australia’s disciplined bowling, Kohli had looked determined to make his mark on the series in his only test before he returns to India for the birth of his first child.
It triggered a mini-collapse with Rahane, who made 42, and Hanuma Vihari (16) joining Kohli in the hut as the hosts struck with the new ball in front of a restricted crowd of 21,000.
All-rounder Cameron Green debuted for Australia in the match.
