Australia’s Deputy High Commissioner to India, Nicholas McCaffrey, said on Monday that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series had gotten off to a ‘dream start,’ lauding the Indian team for their historic victory in Perth.
McCaffrey said that the Australian team must respond strongly in the second Test, which is scheduled to begin on December 6.
“Once again, the Indian men’s cricket team just showed how tenacious and skilful they are. Now, the Australian team must respond. We are optimistic that they will bounce back,” McCaffrey told ANI.
After being outplayed in the first two sessions of the opening day, India staged a remarkable comeback in Perth. Records tumbled as Jasprit Bumrah led the Indian team in the absence of skipper Rohit Sharma. India dominated the match, defeating Australia by 295 runs at Optus Stadium in Perth.
India played a warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI ahead of the second Test. The game was reduced to 50 overs per side due to rain on the first day. The Australian team showed resilience, with youngster Sam Konstas leading the charge with a superb 107 off 97 balls. His masterclass with the bat helped the Prime Minister’s XI post a competitive total of 240.
In reply, Shubman Gill, who returned to the side after missing the first Test due to injury, spearheaded India’s batting effort. He scored a solid fifty, with other key players contributing to secure a six-wicket victory for India.
Australia Squad (for 2nd Test): Pat Cummins (C), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (WK), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
India Squad” Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal.