Perth pitch too spicy? Jasprit Bumrah helps Indian batting unit save face

The Indian batting continued to disappoint on the opening day of the first Test against Australia as they were bundled out for just 150 in the first innings after opting to bat first. Youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal (0), Devdutt Padikkal (0), Dhruv Jurel (11) had a tough time coming to terms with the bouncy and seam-friendly surface at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
On the other hand, star batter Virat Kohli continued his poor form and got dismissed for 5 (12) handing an easy catch to first slip. Rishabh Pant (37 off 78) and Nitish Reddy (41 off 59) saved the face of the Indian batting helping them cross the 100-run mark as they were eventually bundled out for 150 in 49.4 overs. However, the collective failure of the Indian batting once again became the big talking point of the day as their dismal form continued.
AUS vs IND 1st Test Day 1 Highlights
However, stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah made sure that all the attention was taken away from the Indian batters with his menacing spell as he ran through the Australian batting line up. Bumrah was at his ferocious best as he made the ball dance to his tunes leaving the Australian batters dumbfounded.
The speedster dismissed both openers Nathan McSweeney (10), Usman Khawaja (8) and almost got Marnus Labuschagne for a duck, however Virat Kohli dropped the Australian batter at second slip. The stand in India skipper further got the prized scalp of Steve Smith for a golden duck and later dismissed Australian captain Pat Cummins to finish the day with figures of 4/17 in ten overs.
Courtesy of his spell, Australia were left tottering at 67/7 trailing by 83 runs at stumps. Hence, a day which began with another shambolic show by the Indian batters ended with the cricketing fraternity bowing down to India’s new leader Jasprit Bumrah, who was top notch with his decisions on the field and was at his intimidating best with the ball.
Ahead of the first Test, there was widespread clamour around the Perth surface as pundits expected it to give batters a hard time in the middle. The pitch lived up to its reputation as a total of 17 wickets fell on Day 1 as bowlers made merry. Apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant, all other Indian batters lost their wickets while defending the ball as they were outdone by the pace of the wicket.
Cricket analyst Himanish Ganjoo also pointed out the massive seam movement on offer from the surface which was a lot more than what a usual cricket pitch offers. The delivery from debutant Harshit Rana to Travis Head caught everyone’s attention as it moved sharply away from the left hander from good length and managed to seam enough to beat his outside edge and crash into his stumps.
Taking to his X account, Ganjoo, who’s also served as an analyst for the Indian team in the past, highlighted how Rana’s delivery to Head seamed 1.36 degrees in comparison to 0.8 degree average seam movement of the surface. Moreover, he also mentioned how more seam movement results in the dropping of batting averages, as anything above 0.55 degrees results in the average being below 30 and 0.80 degree movement further plummets the batting average to be under 18.

Himanish Ganjoo X account

Himanish Ganjoo (X account)

Hence, keeping all of these factors in mind and the poor show of the Australian batters, it wouldn’t be too fair to go down heavily on the Indian batters who’re already under the pump after an embarrassing 0-3 whitewash at home against New Zealand.
Former cricketers Michael Vaughan and Mark Waugh also came out in defence of big stars Virat Kohli and Steve Smith highlighting how the pitch and other circumstances resulted in their early downfall.
““It is too hard to judge him. Coming out of the crease in Perth when the ball is bouncing is a tactic not many try to pull off and he went for that. It bounced and he found the outside edge. But I think that now we have seen Australia (bat), this was clearly kind of a pitch where you had to be proactive because there’s plenty of balls out there,” Vaughan said on Fox Sports.
“I don’t want to read too much into it today. I mean the pitch is doing enough at pace and Bumrah is a world class bowler. People have always questioned Steve Smith’s technique over the years, and he always responds. He’s a good problem solver. I think his footwork at times, he can go too far across (to) the off-side. So I think it’s something he’s aware of. But I think today, the first ball, I don’t want to read too much into that,” said Waugh.
After 17 wickets fell on Day 1, the Test match has managed to keep the fans and pundits on the edge of their seats. The action-packed Day 1 has doubled the excitement for the rest of the match as both teams will be once again tested on the treacherous surface in Perth. With both lineups having several big names of world cricket, both teams will be under huge pressure to move on from their dismal outing in the first innings and put up an improved show in the second innings to take an early lead in the series.
A massive responsibility lies on the shoulders of the Indian batting in particular after bowlers have almost bailed them out of trouble and it’s time for the batters to return the favour in the second innings as India aim to stun the Aussies in Perth.