India vs Australia 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the 4-test match tournament has kicked off in an entertaining fashion as Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium witnessed one of the most heart-wrenching performances from both the teams on Day 1 of the first match.
After winning the toss, Australian openers, David Warner and Matt Renshaw, batted with calm dripping from their eyes with the trio R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja either baiting them to play loose shots or testing their stands inside the crease, as the wicket was assisting the spinners from the start of the day.
However, Warner (38) was crushed with an in-swing from Umesh Yadav, which the Australian batsman couldn’t read and the wickets were uprooted. The visitors got something unusually interesting to see when Renshaw too started to walk off the pitch with warner. The reaction we will show you later on, even trolled Renshaw for being afraid of the Indian bowling attack, but after the umpires confirmed the reason being a stomach bug, the was declared retired hurt.
Interestingly, it was Renshaw’s excellence that played a pivotal role in Australia’s 256 runs total with the loss of 9 wickets. After both the openers left, the visitor’s batting lineup struggled to keep up with the bowling attack and collapsed like a pack of cards.
Matt Renshaw was forced to resume the game when his team was struggling to find a partnership and the tables were turned. The 20-year-old came back scored his fifty and stayed till the scoresheet reflected 205 runs, before bowing down to R. Ashwin at 68. This must have ended Australia’s hope to register a respectable total in the first innings.
But there was more to the first day. Mitchell Starc played a mind boggling innings showed Virat Kohli what he will miss in RCB this IPL season. By the end of Day 1, Starc was the last man standing with unbeaten 57 runs and this was a preview of what an all-arounder he is. He has left us impressed even before his turn with the ball and by the looks of it, we are going to see more of impressive talent in coming days.
By the end of the First day of the India vs Australia 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy First Test, Australia stood at 256/9, and the pair of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will fight for the last wicket against the Indian bowling attack.
As for India, Umesh Yadav was the man that mattered as he took 4 important wickets, providing India regular breakthroughs and conceding 32 runs in his 12 overs spell. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin had two head under their belt each and Jayant Yadav, despite being the least economical bowlers deserves the credit of the solitary wicket of Shaun Marsh.
Wriddhiman Saha, the man with the biggest shoes to fill in the squad, also became the talk of the town he showed his class on Umesh Yadav’s delivery.
Steve O’Keefe was on the crease, Umesh sensed his struggle with short deliveries due to inconsistent bounce from the pitch. The bowler goes for a short-ball, which enticed O’Keefe for a cut between the slip and wicketkeeper but he could only manage a hard edge. The ball was at least 3 times men away from Saha but he quickly sensed the edge and caught it with a full-length dive, giving us the best moment to cherish from the day.
Here are some of the reactions from Twitter:
#FlyingSaha is what we should call him, remember one he took against South Africa in Delhi #IndvAus #Ripper
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) February 23, 2017
Good luck Team India for the #IndvAus series👍
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) February 23, 2017
This last wicket counter attack might just hurt India. Australia should be very happy if they get around 275 on this pitch.#IndvAus
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) February 23, 2017
Well bowled umesh well done 👍👍👍✌✌✌
— Mohammad Shami (@MdShami11) February 23, 2017
Umesh at it again #skiddygas
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) February 23, 2017
Excellent catch!#INDvAUS https://t.co/z8bcgDJMjO
— Jason Gillespie 🌱 (@dizzy259) February 23, 2017
I see Yorkshire are saving Australia yet again ….. #IndvAus #Renshaw
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 23, 2017
Mitchell Starc has a better batting average than Mitchell Marsh #fact #INDvAUS
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) February 23, 2017
Second time in recent days that Starc is annoying Kohli #INDvAUS
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) February 23, 2017
This Starc-Hazlewood combo starting to feel like the greatest tail-ender partnership! #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/yb3Z1vYmOJ
— The Word (@theword) February 23, 2017
Mitch Marsh averages 23 bats 6
Mitch Starc averages 24 bats 8
Why?#IndvAus— Sportsbet.com.au (@sportsbetcomau) February 23, 2017
Btw …. @mstarc56 is a Yorkshire prodigy as well …. #INDvAUS
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 23, 2017
Starcy loves batting in India!!! #INDvAUS
— Trent Copeland (@copes9) February 23, 2017
Congratulations to Mitch Starc on DOUBLING the COMBINED runs of Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh and Matthew Wade. #INDvAUS
— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw) February 23, 2017
Dear Matt Renshaw,
It's Not Easy To Face Almighty Sir Ravindra Jadeja.Stop Sending Kids, Aus.
#IndvAus #IndvsAus
pic.twitter.com/YljGwz5AVg— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) February 23, 2017
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