Ind Vs Aus, Day 1: Usman Khawaja's 14th Test Century Makes It Australia's Day
Australia won the toss and batted well on a pitch that had played better than any other so far in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. With his 14th Test century, Usman Khawaja formed crucial partnerships with Steve Smith initially and Cameron Green later to enable the visitors move ahead.
Australia, led by the tenacious Khawaja, demonstrated that they were ready to chew India out in the opening session after the hosts got off to a shaky start. India's pacers began by spraying the ball all over the place after being forced to warm up outside the main playing area due to political presence at the game prior to the day's play.
Mohammed Shami started with a huge wide that landed in front of the second slip and then proceeded to put KS Bharat behind the stumps to the test with some movement and unpredictable lines. When an edge eventually came with Travis Head on 7, Bharat blew a simple chance, leaving Umesh to finish.
Head and Usman Khawaja pounced on India's folly and went on to establish Australia's highest opening partnership in the series, dominating the first hour of play. With minimal turn available, R Ashwin bowled tight lines and varied his pace to keep the hitters guessing.
Head attempted to take on Ashwin but ended up holing out to midoff, giving India a crucial breakthrough. Their efforts to limit the run rate were rewarded when Shami was called in for a second spell and hit with his first delivery, with Marnus Labuschagne chopping on.
In the second hour, Ashwin and Shami bowled six maiden overs between them to keep the run flow to a minimum as India took a step back. The pattern remained into the second session. India gave little away with the ball on a slow surface that offered minimal movement. Yet anytime the spinners went short, Khawaja in particular took advantage, blasting away boundaries at regular intervals. Smith received less of these gifts, but he remained astutely disciplined in his ways, preferring to grind India on a hot afternoon.
Rohit Sharma changed his bowling options, even bringing on Shreyas Iyer for an over, but the partnership held strong through the second session.
The third, on the other hand, experienced some early swings of fortune. Smith was caught on the backfoot defending Jadeja and wound up chopping on, ending a 238-ball partnership for 79 runs. India increased their lead when Shami struck for the second time in the first over of a new spell, sending Peter Handscomb's offstump spinning.
Australia was in danger of losing its good work at 170/4. But, the appearance of the second new ball, as well as the presence of a daring Cameron Green, put an end to that proposition. Green pushed a few boundaries against a mediocre Umesh Yadav to demonstrate his intent. Despite being plagued by Shami's short balls, he was able to hold on and repeatedly strike back when an opportunity presented itself.
As the day progressed, he drew close to fifty, but it was the man who batted like a monk all day, Khawaja, who got to fifty off the penultimate over of the day and guaranteed that Australia closed the day solidly on top.
Brief Scores: Australia 255/4 (Usman Khawaja 104*, Cameron Green 49*, Mohammed Shami 2-65)
