India, on Monday, created history when it trounced Australia in the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy cricket Test match in Perth’s Optus Stadium, and became the first country to beat the hosts at this Test centre. This is India’s biggest ever Test win in Australia, as it lost by 295 runs.
This emphatic victory came close on the heels of a three-nil drubbing in as many Test matches at home at the hands of New Zealand a few weeks ago. Moreover, India was bowled out by Australia in the first innings for a meagre 150 runs raising doubts of its prowess to tame the mighty hosts. After setting a mammoth 534-run target, India bowled Australia out for 238 to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series under stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah.
In another achievement, India washed away its New Zealand defeat by this victory and stormed back to the top of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings with 61.11 percentage points.
This victory is India’s biggest ever, surpassing their previous record of 222 runs, set back in 1978 in Sydney when Australia fielded a weakened side amidst the mass exodus for the Kerry Packer World Series.
The stand-in skipper led from the front with a match-haul of 8/72 as India bowled out the hosts for 238 in 58.4 overs on the fourth afternoon of the opening Test. India are now 1-0 up in the five-Test series with regular skipper Rohit Sharma ready to take over during the Day/Night game starting December 6 in Adelaide.
“We were put under pressure in the first innings, but the way we responded was great,” a smiling Bumrah, who was deservedly adjudged man of the match, said after the game. “I played here in 2018 - I remember the wicket started soft. This one was less spicy, we were really well prepared. I told everyone to keep faith… If you have faith in your abilities, then you can do something special,” he added.
While Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will be among the heroes with their solid second innings batting performances, it was Bumrah’s unbelievable skill-set and self belief during Australia’s first innings rout that formed the cornerstone of India’s win.
Not many teams have come back after being 150 all-out on the first day but this Indian team has time and again shown that it is built differently. Prior to the Test, Bumrah spoke about embracing challenges and he did walk the talk during all four days.
It was evident from the manner in which he allowed Mohammed Siraj (match haul of five wickets), debutants Harshit Rana (match haul of four wickets) and Nitish Reddy (41 and 37 not out and one wicket) bowl from the Member’s End so that they can get extra help due to the ball keeping very low.
Washington Sundar (two wickets and 29 runs), who was preferred after the team management felt that Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja with 850 plus Test wickets between them, would not be as effective on this track, also did his bit in mopping up the tail.
With three of their automatic first team selections in skipper Rohit, talented Shubman Gill and bowling artist Mohammed Shami ruled out due to different reasons, Bumrah, leading in only his second Test, was left with a lot to do and less options to work with.
Gabba 2021 evokes nostalgia for every Indian cricket fan but Perth 2024 will certainly be right up there considering that no one, save those 11, and the few others in that change room, could have believed that something like this is possible.
Often the job of deputies in cricket is an understated one, but it is all about making it easy for the general-in-charge. Rahul Dravid had tirelessly done that for Sourav Ganguly during their time and as Rohit Sharma checked-in, he would know that his deputy has at least tried to remove the ton of pressure on his chest after the home series debacle.
Credit must also go to head coach Gautam Gambhir, who copped a lot of flak after the defeat to the Black Caps and it was widely believed that rookies Reddy and Harshit got Test caps on his insistence. Gambhir, who seldom smiles, could afford a grin under the Perth Sun as the burly Harshit and the sinewy Nitish didn’t deviate from the script handed to them for the better part of the game.
Starting the day at 12 for 3 in pursuit of 534, it was about how much time would it take for Australia to capitulate and they eventually did despite a counter-attacking 89 by Travis Head that only delayed the inevitable.
On the last two tours, India started the series at Adelaide, which is believed to have friendlier batting conditions but this time, Australia decided to make the first move putting India on the bounciest surface in the country.
The move only worked for a session and a half before it backfired completely. The Australians had factored in India’s vulnerability but decided to punt on their own batting line-up which has been woefully short of runs.
Steve Smith, one of the modern day greats, and Marnus Labuschagne, who has always been obsessed about batting, have had their forms desert them for the longest time. Then they inducted a rookie in Nathan McSweeney, who isn’t particularly Tested and also not an opener. It indicated that just like India, Australia will also face a transition, and its case could be even worse.
Josh Hazlewood had thrown the towel on third evening itself and one shouldn’t be surprised if the Australian team management plays on flatter batting decks in the coming matches in order to nullify Bumrah’s threat.
But Bumrah is the sort of bowler who can tighten the noose whenever he desires and irrespective of conditions. On the fourth afternoon, he came back to dislodge Head, who was putting on a fight. That was possibly the best of his eight wickets in the game. It was pitched on length and the compulsive driver that Head is, he didn’t expect it to climb from length and it took the outside edge.
