Pujara and Bumrah stars as India shatters the decade old deadlock at Adelaide

India gives wings to their ferocious ambition of winning a test series in Australia by registering a 31 run victory in the series opener and thus breaks the decade old shackle. It is indeed a sight for the sore eyes of the Indian fans, to whom a test series in Australia had been nightmare for over a decade. Two evenly matched side, frequent shifting of balance, smart as well as imprudent cricket from both the sides and finally victory to the more competent side by a narrow margin– one probably couldn't ask more from a test match.

The match started in a positive note for India as they won the toss. The day being sunny and the pitch being a sun baked golden brown with a sparse hint of green, Kohli didn’t think twice before deciding to bat first in order to secure a decent score on the board. The plan soon went sideways as Indian willow-wielders failed to come in terms with the new ball and were reduced to 41 for 4 within the first hour of play. Amidst this scurry of wicket Pujara stood firm, kept the pacers at bay and negotiated wIth Lyon beautifully to reach to his 16^th century. He was run out on 123 while trying to take a risky single on the last ball of an over. Once it looked like India would not pass 150 run mark and have to bite the dust once again. Thanks to Pujara’s grit and resilience, India secured a respectable total of 250 in the first innings and kept themselves relevant in the game. Aussie pacer trio bowled exceptionally well in the first innings with Lyon giving them useful support.

Australia, in their reply, managed only 235, owing to the Indian bowlers’ picking up wickets at regular intervals with their great discipline and perseverance. Barring Travis Head (72), no one could make a significant contribution. Indian pacers were terrific from scratch with Ishant Sharma setting the tone by removing Finch in the very first over and Bumrah frequently asking questions to the batsmen. Ashwin remained the most threatening bowler as he eliminated three of the four left handers in the Aussie top orders.

In the second innings, Indian openers, capitalizing the hard-earned 15 run lead, showed some resistance as they secured 61 run partnership, highest by India in abroad since 2010. Following their departure, Pujara (71), Kohli (34) and Rahane (70) gave some solidity to the innings. Just when Indian innings looked stable and it seemed that they would have a lead around 380-400, wickets started to fall like ninepins. India lost their last five wickets for 25 runs as they managed 307 in the second innings and set 323 as the target for the Aussies. Lyon taking 6 wickets was on top of the bowlers as Indian batsmen succumbed to his sorcery.

In a difficult pitch, though not unplayable, a target of 323 runs looked difficult for a fragile batting side like Australia. Australia once again started to lose wickets at regular intervals, the batsmen showed positive intent initially but threw their wickets way afterwards. Ashwin and Shami divided the first four wickets equally among them as Australia was reduced to 104/4 at the end of penultimate day’s play requiring 219 on the final day. Head and Shaun Marsh who solidified the innings during the last hour of the fourth day were at the crease. 

The concluding day started with flying colours for India as Ishant removed Head early and Bumrah got rid of Marsh before lunch break. After the departure of Marsh, the win for India was thought to a matter of time, but the never ending romance between the opposition tail enders and the Indian bowling line up continued as the last four Aussie batsmen added 107 runs. Instead of delaying the inevitable, they showed sheer grit and perseverance under pressure and made Indians sweat. Indian skipper, on the other hand probably thought that Australian lower orders will shatter under the mounting pressure and was extremely defensive during the end of the innings. Capitalizing this, Australia who once were 187/7 succeeded to reach 291. But India had the last laugh as they kept their nerves in the end when they could have easily lost under the mounting tension. Pujara was rightfully chosen the man of the match for his contribution with the bat in both the innings.

A lot of records for India - Kohli becomes the first Indian captain to register test win in South Africa, England and Australia; India won the first match of a test in Australia for the first time and only the second Asian side after Pakistan to do so; Pant touches the milestone of taking 11 catches in a test match. 

Despite these records, there will be some perturbation in the Indian dressing room. The age old problem of playing away from the body to the balls way outside off stumps has still not been solved, as the all the top order batsmen barring Pujara fell victim to it. Rohit once again showed why he is not considered regularly for the longer format of the game by getting out after being set at the crease. Pant at his sojourn at the crease in both the innings showed unnecessary aggressiveness and gifted his wicket to Lyon both the times. Australian tails added 156 runs in a low scoring match when their Indian counterpart added only 40. Kohli’s ultra-defensive captaincy towards the end of the play has certainly raised a few eye brows. Indian think tank will have work on the aforementioned problems in order to achieve the unprecedented feat of winning a test series in Australian soil.

While this win over a weaker Australian side, if not the weakest, certainly doesn’t make India conqueror, it is certainly comforting for the men in blues to register a win in Australian soil after 10 years. Their dream to seal the series is still miles away though, as Australia, even bereft of their batting stalwarts, showed that why they are still a team to be reckoned with.

Photo Source: Google

Writer: Sourav Samanta

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