Fiery spells from pacers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc left Indian batters struggling at the crease, as the visitors lost early wickets and managed just 51 runs by the end of the first session of the opening Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia at Perth’s Optus Stadium on Friday.
At the close of the first session, India was 51/4, with Rishabh Pant (10*) and Dhruv Jurel (4*) unbeaten at the crease.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first on a challenging Perth surface, Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul found scoring difficult against Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, with the first boundary coming as byes. However, Jaiswal was tempted into a drive by Starc, and debutant Nathan McSweeney took a sharp catch at gully. India was reduced to 5/1 in 2.1 overs.
KL Rahul was joined by Devdutt Padikkal, who was playing his first Test in Australia after featuring in a solitary Test against England at home. The pair attempted to stabilise the innings but Padikkal, after a patient 23-ball stay, nicked a delivery to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, giving Hazlewood his first wicket. Padikkal departed for a duck, leaving India at 14/2 in 11 overs.
Star batter Virat Kohli entered to loud cheers but could not make a significant impact. Hazlewood, extracting extra bounce from the surface, forced Kohli to edge one to Usman Khawaja in the slips for just five, continuing his lean run. India slumped further to 32/3.
KL Rahul, who had looked composed and struck a few elegant boundaries, could not prolong his innings. He was dismissed in controversial fashion, with uncertainty over whether the ball had hit his pad or bat. He scored 26 off 74 balls, including three fours, as India stumbled to 47/4.
Pant and Jurel, two young wicketkeeper-batters, saw out the remainder of the session without further losses.
India had earlier won the toss and elected to bat first.
India (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (w), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Mohammed Siraj
Australia (Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (w), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.