A blue patch shimmered in the stands as Indian fans congregated to celebrate a great triumph. The Tricolour fluttered, drums echoed, a conch lent a deep acoustic vibe and on the turf Jasprit Bumrah’s men were tightening their hold on the first Test at the Optus Stadium here on Monday.
History’s notes often whisper about Melbourne, 1981; Adelaide, 2003; Perth, 2008; and Brisbane, 2021. These were significant contests in which India stunned the host and charted a fresh path. To this list, add Perth, 2024, as India defeated Australia by 295 runs to go 1-0 up in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
In its second innings, Australia was bowled out for 238. This emphatic victory, registered on the fourth day, was the welcome balm that India needed after the 0-3 loss to New Zealand at home.
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Resuming at the overnight 12 for three, Australia heaved a sigh of relief as Bumrah’s appeal for an lbw verdict was immediately negated after a no-ball was declared. A twitchy Steve Smith survived but there was no such luck for Usman Khawaja, who miscued a pull off Mohammed Siraj and found the ball lobbing up and descending into Rishabh Pant’s gloves.
Southpaw Travis Head then joined forces with Smith and a semblance of a partnership took shape. Head survived an lbw appeal and subsequent review from Siraj, and immediately celebrated with drives and punches as Bumrah and Harshit Rana felt the heat of the batter’s aggression. Head tucked into Siraj too, who in turn accounted for Smith with a peach of a delivery that homed in, took the edge and left Pant ecstatic behind the wickets.
Head and Mitchell Marsh held firm till lunch as Australia moved to 104 for five and made India wait. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma had a stint at the nets, gearing up for future battles at Adelaide and other venues. And after the break, with the sun beating down, Marsh pulled Harshit for a six and lofted Washington Sundar into the stands.
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Head, meanwhile kept clattering his runs, and it demanded Bumrah’s brilliance to cause a breach. The speedster cramped Head (89) for space and as the constricted batter tried to defend, the edge was taken. The sixth-wicket 82-run partnership, one of Australia’s few pockets of resistance, had concluded. And it got worse when Nitish Kumar castled Marsh as the latter chopped a delivery onto his stumps.
At 182 for seven, the host continued to delay the inevitable as the left-handed combine of Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc hung around with the former being adept at pulling and finding his runs behind square. However, just at the stroke of tea, Starc fell as Dhruv Jurel pulled off an outstanding reflex catch at forward short-leg with Washington being the relieved bowler.
Australia 227 for eight, in the spasms of a death-rattle, and the last dance extended into the final session when Washington slipped one past Nathan Lyon’s defensive willow. And once Harshit castled Carey, Bumrah’s men lost themselves in warm hugs.
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