India yesterday roared back into the first Test against Australia after being skittled for 150, taking seven wickets in the final session to put themselves in the box seat after a riveting opening day in Perth.
At the close the hosts were in disarray on 67-7 after Jasprit Bumrah demolished the Australia top order in a devastating spell to end the day with 4-17.
Alex Carey was unbeaten on 19 and Mitchell Starc was on 6 not out at stumps.
Photo: AFP
After opting to bat the visitors were blown away for 150, no match for the hosts’ lethal pace attack with Josh Hazlewood taking 4-29.
Impressive debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy (41) and flamboyant Rishabh Pant (37) showed some spirit, but once again superstar Virat Kohli flopped, out for 5.
The 36-year-old has only scored two Test centuries in the past five years, with questions mounting over whether he still warrants selection.
Photo: AP
However, Australia fared no better in reply.
Captain Bumrah removed rookie opener Nathan McSweeney LBW for 10, another headache for a team struggling to find a decent replacement for the retired David Warner.
Marnus Labuschagne had a massive let-off two balls later, with Kohli putting down a sitter in the slips, leaving Bumrah with his head in his hands.
However, India quickly snared another breakthrough with Kohli this time holding the catch off Bumrah to remove Usman Khawaja (8), and when Steve Smith was trapped LBW off the next ball, it was game on.
Harshit Rana bowled Travis Head (11) for a maiden Test wicket before Mitchell Marsh departed for 5.
Labuschagne rode his luck for 52 deliveries to eke out two runs before he, too, was on his way, LBW to Siraj, then Bumrah returned to dismiss skipper Pat Cummins for 3.
The absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma following the birth of a child and injured No. 3 Shubman Gill left India with a fragile batting lineup.
Yashasvi Jaiswal left without scoring in the third over, edging an attempted drive off Starc to McSweeney, who did well to collect low at gully.
With Gill missing, left-hander Devdutt Padikkal came in at three, facing 23 deliveries without scoring before his luck ran out when Hazlewood steamed in and enticed an edge taken by wicketkeeper Carey.
That brought Kohli to the crease, in dire need of a big score.
Despite a stellar record in Australia he lasted just 12 balls before fending off a climbing Hazlewood thunderbolt that took an edge to Khawaja at slip.
India’s woes worsened when opener Rahul (26) feathered to Carey on the cusp of lunch.
Pant and Dhruv Jurel needed to hang around after the break, but Jurel, preferred to Sarfaraz, survived barely 10 minutes before succumbing to Marsh on 11, getting an edge that carried to Labuschagne at third slip.
Marsh struck again to account for Washington Sundar to leave the visitors staring down the barrel on 73-6 before Pant and Reddy led a mini recovery.
Cummins ended Pant’s exploits, taken sharply at slip by Smith, which signaled India’s demise.
The visitors have won their past two Border-Gavaskar trophy series in Australia.
Perth is the first of five Tests in the series.
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
LIKE FINE WINE: Thirty-eight-year-old Djokovic won his 101st title of his career in Athens, becoming the oldest tournament winner since Ken Roswell, 44, in 1977 Elena Rybakina on Saturday clinched her biggest title since Wimbledon in 2022, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6 (7/0) at the WTA Finals in Riyadh. The world No. 6 put on yet another serving masterclass and was at her returning best as she became the first Kazakh and the first player representing an Asian country to lift the WTA Finals singles trophy. Having gone 3-0 in round-robin play, Rybakina earned a record US$5.235 million and would finish the year ranked No. 5 in the world. “It’s been an incredible week, I honestly didn’t expect any result, and to go so far,
EMPTY STANDS: Maccabi fans were banned from attending by police, who cited violence and hate crimes when the team played Ajax in Amsterdam last season Aston Villa beat Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 on Thursday in a Europa League game played amid heightened security measures, with more than 700 police officers deployed to deal with possible protests. Morgan Rogers put through Ian Maatsen in first-half stoppage time for the defender to score from a tight angle and Villa doubled the lead on the hour with Donyell Malen hitting the bottom corner from the penalty spot. It was Villa’s third win from games in the competition. The game at Villa Park had become the center of a political debate after Maccabi fans were banned from attending, as
Bjorn Werner on Saturday signed everything thrust in front of him by NFL fans who packed a Berlin plaza. His old Indianapolis Colts jersey — it is a best-seller in Germany — footballs, scarves, miniature helmets. Even a cleat. Werner’s NFL career ended after three seasons because of injuries, but he has become a star in his home country as a TV commentator and media personality. He cohosts a popular podcast, has a big social media presence and is credited with helping popularize the sport in Germany. As the former first-round draft pick waded through throngs of fans, he looked around and took
RSS