The fourth test between India and Australia on day 1 went in both team’s favour. The left-arm wristspin debutant Kuldeep Yadav bowled magnificently today to restrict Australia at a modest total of 300, but then the Kangaroo captain Steven Smith also smashed a fine knock of 111 (173b, 4s x 14) to keep India grounded.
India vs Australia, 4th Test Day 1: Kuldeep Yadav makes dream debut
Having lost their first wicket at 10, Australia fought hard and kept all challenges at bay. The Kangaroo captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner (56) hammered a crucial 134-run partnership for the second wicket negotiating the first session of the day’s play very well without any further trouble.
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The right-hand and left-hand combination worked for the team as they managed around 4 RPO. However, debutant left-arm Chinaman, Kuldeep Yadav got his first international test wicket when Warner edged a catch at slip to Rahane off his turning delivery.
For India, there were lots of happy moments on day 1; Ashwin picked 79 wickets in 13 tests becoming the only bowler to scalp the most wickets in a single season. Previous best was Dale Steyn’s 78 from 12 tests in 2008. Also, Kuleed Yadav, playing his maiden test, became only the third left-arm-spin bowler to chipped in four or more wickets in debut innings.
Kuldeep Yadav dismantled Australia’s batting
The left-arm spinner didn’t stop there and kept on taking wickets at regular intervals. Australia kept on losing wickets at one end but Aussie captain Steven Smith silently cruised to his third century in the series with one more valuable ton for his side. With this ton, Steven Smith entered into the record book becoming only the second captain after Alastair Cook (England) to hit three or more tons in a series in India.
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Smith elegantly chiseled his knock today. Without much support from his top-order batsmen – Smith kept his cool and connected his bat to balls well. Some good batting by Mathew Wade (57) at number seven took Aussies close to 300-run mark. Overall, Indian bowlers did their task today but again they couldn’t stop the Smith storm which is persistent in the series.
The Dharamsala pitch turned out to be equally helpful to both batsmen and bowlers. Kuldeep Yadav exploited the opportunity well chipping in 4 for 68 in 23 overs. It was definitely a dream debut for him. His bowling got the necessary turns and movements that troubled the visitors. Their vulnerability in front of left arm spin is not new. Australia also suffered heavily against the Sri Lankan left-arm-orthodox Lakshan Sandakan last year.
Australia missed out an opportunity
Winning the toss, Australia decided to bat first. There were some supports to fast bowlers as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav started off the day with the new ball. There were some close hits and misses, but barring Renshaw (1) who got bowled out of Umesh Yadav, Smith and Warner easily tackled Indian pace attack and hit them for boundaries wherever they sniffed an opportunity.
However, major damage happened in session two as Kangaroo team lost five wickets adding just 77 runs on the board. Australia’s scorecard read 208 for 6 at Tea. Eventually, at the last session of the day’s play Australia added only 92 runs on the board. Their total-run on the board was 300 (all-out). India came out to bat and played 1-over carefully without adding anything to the scorecard.
Brief Scorecard:
Australia 300 All Out: (Warner 56, Smith 111 & Wade 57; Kuldeep 4 for 68, Umesh 2 for 69).
India: 0-0 after 1 overs with both Lokesh Rahul (0*) and Murali Vijay (0*) are batting.
Tags: 4th Test, Australia, Dharamsala, HPCA Stadium, India, Kuldeep Yadav, Pre Match Analysis, Preview, Steve Smith, Test Match, Virat Kohli
