Tag: australia

ADELAIDE: Irrepressible Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc claimed his career-best bowling figures to bundle India for 180 on day one of the pink-ball Test of the Boder-Gavaskar Trophy here on Friday.

After India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss on an overcast day at Adelaide Oval, the visitors were dismissed on the cusp of tea.

The menacing Starc, who gave Australia a dream start by removing India opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal with the first ball of the match, took 6-48. Scott Boland and Pat Cummins both grabbed two each.

Six wickets went down in the second session, including Rohit for three and the flamboyant Rishabh Pant for 21.

Pant should have gone for five, but Nathan McSweeney spilled a sharp chance in the gully after the dangerous Boland, in the side for the injured Josh Hazlewood, drew an edge.

But the 35-year-old seamer got his reward four balls later, beating Rohit’s bat to trap him lbw.

A big innings was needed from Pant, but he was unable to deliver with a vicious climbing ball from Cummins bouncing off the shoulder of his bat and into the hands of Marnus Labuschagne.

Starc was brought back for another spell and was hostile once again, taking care of Ravichandran Ashwin (22) and Harshit Rana (0) in the space of four balls.

With India in trouble, Nitish Kumar Reddy decided to take charge, clobbering two big sixes in one Boland over to reach his highest Test score of 42 before he and Jasprit Bumrah fell to Starc and Cummins respectively.

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India came into the clash riding high after a 295-run victory at the first Test in Perth, but Australia have a formidable record in Adelaide, winning all seven pink-ball Tests they have played at the venue.

The visitors chose to retain Jaiswal and KL Rahul as openers in preference to Rohit, who missed the first Test on paternity leave and came in at six.

But the plan backfired as Starc sensationally trapped Jaiswal lbw from a swinging first ball, with the left-armer’s pumped-up celebration showing how much it meant.

The returning Shubman Gill, who was absent from Perth with a thumb injury, then stroked two boundaries in an eventful first over.

But the runs dried up and Rahul was at the crease for 40 minutes without scoring when he was given out, caught behind off Boland.

Rahul was walking off, but a no-ball was called and he survived. Five balls later he had another life, dropped by Usman Khawaja at slip.

Undeterred, the pair battled on, before Starc wove his magic again to remove Rahul for 37 with McSweeney holding a catch low at gully.

Virat Kohli roared back to form in Perth with an unbeaten second-innings century but he was no match for Mitchell Starc this time, out for seven when Steve Smith collected a catch in the slips.

Gill was impressive in weathering the storm, but his luck ran out just before the first break when he fell lbw on 31 to the relentless Boland.

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Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli is on the verge of breaking a 76-year-old record of legendary Sir Don Bradman during the remaining matches of the Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia.

Kohli landed in Australia with the weight of his below-par form and a 16-month century drought.

However, he turned things around in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series, displaying a masterclass in strokeplay to mark his return to form with an unbeaten knock of 100 runs off 143 balls in the second innings.

This was Kohli’s 30th Test century, which took him ahead of Bradman, who had 29 Test hundreds to his name, in the list of batters with the most centuries in the format.

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Notably, this was Kohli’s 10th century from 43 matches on Australian soil. This impressive feat placed him second on the list for the most international centuries scored by a visiting batter in a single country.

Kohli has scored seven Test centuries, alongside three centuries in ODI matches in Australia.

The record for the most centuries by a visiting batter in a single country is currently held by Don Bradman, who notched up 11 centuries in just 30 innings in England between 1930 and 1948.

With four matches remaining in the Border-Gavaskar series, Virat Kohli is standing on the brink of history, with the opportunity to surpass the remarkable record of Bradman.

Most Centuries by a Visiting Batter in a Single Country

• Don Bradman (Australia) – 11 centuries vs. England
• Virat Kohli (India) – 10 centuries vs. Australia
• Jack Hobbs (England) – 9 centuries vs. Australia
• Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 9 centuries vs. Sri Lanka
• Vivian Richards (West Indies) – 8 centuries vs. England
• Sunil Gavaskar (India) – 7 centuries vs. England

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Australia pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood was on Saturday ruled out of the second Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India in Adelaide, with seamers Sean Abbott and Brendon Doggett added to their squad.

The right-armer, who took five wickets in Australia’s 295-run first Test defeat at Perth, has what Cricket Australia (CA) described as “a low-grade left side injury”.

“Josh Hazlewood will remain with the group in Adelaide to prepare for the remainder of the series,” CA added.

While the uncapped Abbott and Doggett were drafted in, Hazelwood’s absence is likely to open the door for Scott Boland to play in the day-night Test between Australia and India that will start on Friday.

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Boland, who was already part of the squad, played the last of his 10 Tests in July 2023 against England at Headingley.

If selected it would be Boland’s second Test match in Adelaide after playing against the West Indies in 2022 when he had match figures of 3-45.

There are also question marks around allrounder Mitchell Marsh, who, like Hazlewood, pulled up sore following their Perth thrashing. Beau Webster was on Thursday called into the squad as cover for him.

Squad for the second Border-Gavaskar Test

Australia: 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: 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

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Uncapped all-rounder Beau Webster was on Thursday added to the Australia squad for next week’s second Test of the Border-Gavaskar series against India in Adelaide as cover for Mitchell Marsh.

The 30-year-old is on standby after Marsh pulled up sore following their 295-run thrashing by the visitors in the first Test at Perth on Monday.

Webster has been in red-hot form for Tasmania in the domestic Sheffield Shield over the past 18 months, with his seam-bowling prowess and explosive batting catching the eye of selectors.

“[Beau] Webster will join the squad next week having been named the Sheffield Shield player of the year last summer and continuing that form this season,” Cricket Australia (CA) said.

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While questions remain around the fitness of Mitchell Marsh Marsh, Australia coach Andrew McDonald has indicated they will likely stick with the same team despite being outsmarted in Perth.

Webster and the rest of the squad are set to arrive in Adelaide earlier than anticipated to get in extra training sessions ahead of the day-night Test starting on December 6.

After Adelaide, the series moves to Brisbane for the third Test, which is scheduled to be played from December 14 to December 18.

The iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will host the fourth match from December 26, while the final Test will be played in Sydney from January 3.

Australia squad for the second India 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, and Beau Webster.

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Australia skipper Pat Cummins admitted that the crushing first Test loss to India “hurt”, but said his team is experienced enough to learn from it and will bounce back in the remaining matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The Indian side arrived in Australia on the back of a humiliating 3-0 home series defeat to New Zealand.

Moreover, their captain Rohit Sharma and star batter Shubman Gill were not available for the first Test. In their absence, India were bundled for a meagre 150 runs in the first innings.

However, Bumrah led the team’s remarkable comeback as they booked Australia to 104 to take a 46-run lead.

India declared their second innings after posting a massive 487-6, setting Australia a mountainous 534-run target. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli struck dominant centuries to set up the mammoth total.

In response, Australia crumbled to 238 all out in the final session on day four against an inspired attack led by the irrepressible Jasprit Bumrah, who took 3-42 to claim eight wickets in the match.

“Look, I think you kind of sit in the change room after a loss like that and it hurts,” said Pat Cummins after the match. “When a team declares on you, it’s never an amazing feeling. We’ve all been in these situations before.”

“The biggest challenge and the most important thing is how do you bounce back, what’s your next move?

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“So that’s what we’ve got to do this week. Clearly, we were well off the mark, there’s a lot to work on.

“The most important thing is there’s four Test matches to come and how do we make sure that we don’t be in this position again.”

The next Test is in Adelaide next week under lights with a pink ball, a format Australia has excelled at.

Cummins said they would likely arrive in the city earlier than first thought to work on ironing out the batting and bowling issues that cost them in Perth.

But despite allrounder Mitchell Marsh carrying some niggles and Marnus Labuschagne being badly out of form, he does not expect many, if any, changes.

“I think after every Test you always kind of look at what you think your best match-up is,” he said. “Four or five days ago, we thought this was our best 11 so I dare say there won’t be many changes going into Adelaide, but I’m not a selector.”

“I’m sure they’ll get together after the game, but yeah, not to be today and we’ve got a bit of work to do over the next 10 days.”

READ: “Didn’t see him out of form”: Jasprit Bumrah hails Virat Kohli

India stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah heaped high praise on star batter Virat Kohli after the crushing victory over Australia in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth on Monday.

The Indian side arrived in Australia on the back of a humiliating 3-0 home series defeat to New Zealand.

Moreover, their captain Rohit Sharma and star batter Shubman Gill were not available for the first Test. In their absence, India were bundled for a meagre 150 runs in the first innings.

However, Bumrah led the team’s remarkable comeback as they booked Australia to 104 to take a 46-run lead.

India declared their second innings after posting a massive 487-6, setting Australia a mountainous 534-run target. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli struck dominant centuries to set up the mammoth total.

Kohli walked out to bat on the third day carrying the weight of four single-digit scores in his last five innings and a 16-month century drought. He last scored a century during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 semi-final against New Zealand.

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However, he displayed a masterclass in strokeplay, marking his return to form with an unbeaten knock of 100 runs off 143 balls, laced with eight boundaries and two sixes.

In response, Australia crumbled to 238 all out in the final session on day four against an inspired attack led by the irrepressible Jasprit Bumrah, who took 3-42 to claim eight wickets in the match.

Bumrah praised Jaiswal and Kohli highly while talking to the media after the victory. He termed Jaiswal’s knock against Australia as the best innings by the young batter.

“[Yashasvi] Jaiswal has had a great start to his Test career. This was his best Test innings probably. He has an attacking nature, but he left the ball well and played long,” Bumrah stated.

The star bowler praised Kohli and asserted he was not out of form, explaining that a batter’s form cannot be judged on challenging batting wickets.

“I didn’t see him [Virat Kohli] out of form at all. On challenging wickets, it’s hard to judge if a batsman is in form. He was looking good in the nets,” he concluded.

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India, under the stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah, defeated Australia by a massive 295-run margin in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth and claimed the top spot in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) standings on Monday.

Australia, while chasing a mountainous 534, crumbled to 238 all out in the final session on day four. A counter-punching Travis Head made a gritty 89 while Mitchell Marsh chipped in with 47.

But it was never going to be enough against an inspired attack led by the irrepressible Bumrah, who took 3-42 to claim eight wickets in the match. He was ably supported by Mohammed Siraj with 3-51.

It was an astonishing turnaround for India, who arrived in Australia on the back of a humiliating 3-0 home series defeat to New Zealand. They needed four victories in the five-match series to earn their place in the WTC final.

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With the victory in the Perth Test, India successfully ascended to the top of the WTC standings, boasting a PCT of 61.11 after winning nine out of their 15 matches in the ongoing cycle.

In contrast, Australia, who had previously held the leading position in the WTC standings, fell to second place following this match, now possessing a PCT of 57.69 after securing eight wins out of 13 matches.

However, the win in Perth did not guarantee India a spot in the WTC final. To ensure their place in the final, the Indian team would need to win three out of the remaining four matches during their Australian tour.

A 5-0 clean sweep or a 4-1 victory in the series would provide them with the coveted ticket to the final. In case they fail to achieve these results, their fate will depend on the outcomes of other teams in the championship.

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PERTH: India ran riot to win the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by a crushing 295 runs here on Monday and leave Australia shellshocked and searching for answers.

Set a mountainous 534 for victory, the world’s top-ranked Test team crumbled to 238 all out in the final session on day four. A counter-punching Travis Head made a gritty 89 while Mitchell Marsh chipped in with 47.

But it was never going to be enough against an inspired attack led by the irrepressible Jasprit Bumrah, who took 3-42 to claim eight wickets in the match. He was ably supported by Mohammed Siraj with 3-51.

It was an astonishing turnaround for India, who arrived in Australia on the back of a humiliating 3-0 home series defeat to New Zealand.

Given little hope of defending the Border-Gavaskar Trophy they have held since 2017, they now head to the second day-night Test in Adelaide next week with a big psychological advantage and boosted by the return of skipper Rohit Sharma.

The victory was only India’s second in Perth and first since their triumph at the WACA Ground back in 2008.

Under Bumrah’s temporary captaincy, they utterly dominated an ageing side which is now the one facing scrutiny after failing to fire.

Out for a dismal 104 in reply to India’s first-innings 150, the hosts’ bowling attack then had no reply to a brilliant 161 from impressive young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and an unbeaten 100 from superstar Virat Kohli, who went past legendary Sir Don Bradman’s tally of Test centuries.

Australia’s batting line-up, which has long relied on one large score or partnership to pull them out of sticky situations, was mostly outsmarted. Their longest partnership through both innings was 82.

With India setting them a huge target, they again capitulated on Monday in the face of the Bumrah-led onslaught.

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After imploding in the final 30 minutes of play on Sunday, they resumed on 12-3 with Usman Khawaja on three and Steve Smith yet to score. Khawaja added just one when he mistimed a pull shot off Siraj and got a big top edge.

It was caught by backtracking wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who became the most expensive player in Indian Premier League (IPL) history on Sunday at the tournament’s lucrative auction.

Head survived a loud lbw shout on seven, a review found it was missing leg stump and he battled on, smacking seven boundaries for his 17th Test half-century.

At the other end, Smith was felled by a Harshit Rana bouncer that slammed into his midriff, needing a spell lying on the ground to recover. He was able to get up and play on, and like Head came through an lbw review on 12.

But their partnership was ended by Siraj, with Pant taking another neat catch after Smith edged a delivery he had to play on 17.

Head teamed up with Marsh in an 82-run stand to temporarily raise hopes before Bumrah again worked his magic.

Seemingly destined for a century, the largely untroubled Head feathered to Pant with Bumrah’s loud double fist pump showing how ecstatic he was at the breakthrough.

Allrounder Marsh kept the scoreboard ticking over with Alex Carey but fell for 47, dragging a wide Nitish Kumar Reddy delivery onto the stumps.

Mitchell Starc, top-scorer in the first innings, was out for 12 on the cusp of tea before the tail was wrapped up early in the final session.

Australia and India will now travel to Adelaide for the second Test, starting from December 6. Meanwhile, the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is scheduled to be played in Brisbane from December 14-18.

The iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will host the fourth match from December 26, while the final Test will be played in Sydney from January 3.

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Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli etched his name in the history books on Sunday with his 30th century in Test cricket, going past legendary Sir Don Bradman, during the first match of the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia.

Kohli walked out to bat on the third day carrying the weight of four single-digit scores in his last five innings and a 16-month century drought. He last scored a century during the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 semi-final against New Zealand.

However, he displayed a masterclass in strokeplay, marking his return to form with an unbeaten knock of 100 runs off 143 balls, laced with eight boundaries and two sixes.

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His innings propelled India to a commanding position before skipper Jasprit Bumrah declared with a staggering 533-run lead.

Virat Kohli with his 30th Test century surpassed legendary Australian Sir Don Bradman, who had 29 Test hundreds to his name.

The Indian star has now joined Matthew Hayden and Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the elite group of players with 30 Test centuries. Only 14 players have scored more Test tons, with Kohli trailing active players Steve Smith and Kane Williamson in the tally.

Most Centuries in Test Cricket

• Sachin Tendulkar — 51
• Jacques Kallis — 45
• Ricky Ponting — 41
• Kumar Sangakkara — 38
• Rahul Dravid — 36
• Joe Root — 35
• Younis Khan, Sunil Gavaskar, Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene — 34
• Alastair Cook (ENG) — 33
• Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Steve Waugh — 32
• Virat Kohli, Matthew Hayden, Shivnarine Chanderpaul — 30

It’s worth noting that this was Kohli’s seventh Test hundred in Australia, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most centuries in Australia by an Indian batter.

Overall Kohli has scored 10 centuries in Australia across all formats, which is a record by any visiting batter. Previously, the record was held by Jack Hobbs, who scored nine centuries in Australia.

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Yashasvi Jaiswal hit a composed unbeaten 90 and KL Rahul a stylish 62 on Saturday as India built an ominous 218-run lead over Australia to take a stranglehold in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth.

A determined and gritty effort by both men against a world-class attack put the visitors in the driving seat as they look to draw first blood in the five-match series.

Jaiswal faced 193 balls while Rahul fended off 153 to steer India to 172 without loss at the close on day two.

India have won their last two Border-Gavaskar trophy series in Australia but came into the Perth Stadium clash after a devastating 3-0 home loss to New Zealand.

After making a miserly 150 on a lively pitch in their first innings, the pressure was again on. But their response proved admirable.

They took a 46-run advantage into the second innings after dismissing the hosts for a meagre 104 at lunch.

Dynamic skipper Jasprit Bumrah blitzed 5-30 and Harshit Rana grabbed 3-48.

“When Bumrah took wickets I was also desperate to do well,” said Rana, who is making his debut. “He sets the tone for us and I delivered.”

Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is just 22 years of age, was playing in his 15th Test. He failed to score in his first knock and began tentatively before a boundary off Mitchell Starc settled him.

Batting alongside the more experienced Rahul, who was playing in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, they were resolute against the new ball on a pitch more placid than the treacherous one that greeted the players on Friday.

Both ran well between the wicket and cracked anything loose to the boundary, playing their shots as their confidence grew.

With the ball not moving nearly as much, Australia were in dire need of some inspiration, but it failed to come as the partnership between India batters flourished.

Left-hander Jaiswal brought up his ninth Test half-century off 123 balls, slapping Nathan Lyon for a single.

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He had a let-off on 52 when attempting a drive off Starc, with the ball flying to Usman Khawaja at second slip, but he failed to take a difficult chance.

The elegant Rahul also had a scare, surviving a run-out on 42.

He regrouped to reach his 16th half-century in his 54th Test, taking one more ball than Jaiswal, and with those landmarks reached they began playing more freely.

After an astonishing 17 wickets fell on a chaotic opening day, Australia resumed on 67-7 and put on 37 thanks to a dogged last-wicket holdout.

They reached three figures courtesy of Starc and Josh Hazlewood, with their 25-run stand the longest of the Australian innings.

Bumrah was India’s chief destroyer with his 11th five-wicket haul in Tests.

Home hopes rested on Alex Carey as he began on 19, but after nudging two from Rana he came up against an irrepressible Bumrah.

Coming round the wicket, the Indian captain made Carey play and he nicked to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

Lyon (5) did well to hang around for 16 fiery balls before gloving a short one from Rana to Rahul in the slips.

That brought Hazlewood to the crease and it seemed only a matter of time before India were batting again.

But he and Starc gamely stuck around, bringing up the 100 to huge cheers from the crowd.

It was an intelligent innings by Starc, who doggedly faced 112 balls and protected Hazlewood to add crucial extra runs before holing out Rana to Pant on 26.

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