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As the first session came to its conclusion, India were left tottering at 51 for 4. After opting to bat, Josh Hazlewood in particular found the right lengths for the Perth wicket to pick up a couple of wickets. Mitchell Starc too finished with a two-for. In such a scenario, the touring camp would be searching for positives. KL Rahul’s watertight technique against consistent seam movement and awkward bounce was the only flicker of hope. However, even he fell at the back end of the session, with Starc picking up the prized scalp after a contentious third-umpire call.
So, was there any highlight in Rahul’s very good defence in some tricky conditions for batting? Yes, there was. In the 16th over, Pat Cummins hit the pitch hard and extracted movement away from Rahul. The Indian opener, however, waited till the last moment and then tucked his bat behind the pad. That encapsulated his game in a nutshell.
Rahul was ready to leave deliveries on a length. He also was keen on keeping his bat very close to his body and waited for the Australian quicks to bowl fuller in length. He did get a few loose deliveries, and essayed a couple of drives through the off-side. Occasionally, he neatly played the flick through midwicket. In such conditions, the batter also needs a bit of luck. Rahul did have a close shave or two, with one of the edges not carrying to third slip. Unfortunately for India, his sure-footed innings came to an end in the 23rd over.
The initial decision for a caught-behind appeal was not out. But it was overturned via the DRS. It seemed as if the spike on the snicko was due to the bat hitting the pad. But the third umpire reversed the decision. All that Rahul could do was shake his head and walk back to the pavilion.
Meanwhile, Hazlewood and Starc were the star performers for Australia. Hazlewood found extra bounce from both good and short of a length and there was nifty movement too. The delivery to Devdutt Padikkal pitched on a good length and moved off the seam 1.39 degrees to catch the edge. The one to Virat Kohli bounced extra to hit the sticker of the bat, with Usman Khawaja pouching the catch in the slip cordon.
The session also saw Yashasvi Jaiswal being snuffed out by Starc. Jaiswal, who is basically a back-foot player, couldn’t come forward to a full delivery and eked out a thick edge to the gully fielder.
Doom and gloom are the only two words that can explain India’s fortunes in the first two hours. There would be a few question marks over the decision at the toss. Although it has to be said that most teams tend to bat first at this ground, with the cracks set to open later on in the match. The conditions were tricky but not close to being unplayable. Rishabh Pant, the mastermind behind India’s jailbreak at the Gabba in January 2021, will now have to shoulder the responsibility. Or maybe it will be Dhruv Jurel?
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