India falls flat to Aussie seam and bounces further, crawls at 51/4 – Telangana today

Saving K.L. Rahul (26 off 74 balls), youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) and Devdutt Padikkal (0) were left searching for answers along with Virat Kohli (5), whose indifferent form continued.

Perth: India’s top-order team could not resist seam and extra bounce following their captain Jasprit Bumrah’s inexplicable decision to bat first as the visitors crawled to 51 for 4 at lunch on the first day of the first Test against Australia here on Friday.

With the exception of K.L. Rahul (26 off 74 balls), who showed good technique and great temperament until he was at the crease, youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) and Devdutt Padikkal (0) were left looking for answers along with Virat Kohli (5). , whose indifferent form continued.

Rahul’s controversial dismissal just before lunch left India in complete disarray. At the break, Rishabh Pant was batting at 10 with Dhruv Jurel (4 runs) keeping him company.

Exactly a year ago in South Africa, Jaiswal looked out to sea on the busy highways of Centurion and Cape Town. On Friday, Mitchell Starc started with a few pitches back before throwing another pitch. The ball bounced aside and also met Jaiswal’s willow at a height that would have been at least a foot higher if it had been played in the Indian subcontinent.

The result was a flash and Marnus Labuschagne took the ball at gully. Devdutt Padikkal, who came in as a replacement for the injured Shubman Gill, never looked intent on getting on the front foot and even left a few over-the-top deliveries for him to score.

The result was a 23rd delivery, fuller from Josh Hazlewood, which Padikkal played with stiff hands to offer Alex Carey a major catch. Virat Kohli (5) arguably had his best performance in the morning session when Hazlewood bowled one short and the star Indian batter failed to clear his bat off the line of the ball. The edge has led to regulatory delays.

Australia’s pace trio of Starc (2/10), Hazlewood (2/10) and Pat Cummins (0/23) were disciplined throughout the first hour, keeping the batters calm. During this course, Rahul followed the basics – playing the one that enters his body, leaving all other shots to length. He played a couple of push drives and the first boundary was streaky as he tried to swing away from the line of a short delivery and the edge flew over the slip.

But there were several energetic cover drives, some of which went past his bat. However, Rahul walked out with less than 10 minutes left for lunch. Starc, returning for his second spell, was given the opportunity to step up and showed a wilted deflection, although the batter may have assumed his bat had hit the crease at the same moment the ball went wide of the edge.