Perth Pain for Batters as India Bowlers Shine

Perth: “From Ashes to Ashes, from dust to dust...beware Lillee's fury, Thommo's deadly trust.”

The chant became famous during Australia’s 1974/75 series against Mike Denness’s England team. Anybody who has followed cricket, has heard it and been in awe of that phrase.

But now, perhaps, it’s time to rework the sentence. For, if Hazlewood won’t get ya, then Starc must. Or it could be Bumrah or Cummins or Siraj or Rana. A remarkable day of Test cricket between Australia and India saw 17 wickets fall as bowlers on both sides exploited the conditions --- and poor batting --- to wreak havoc.

There was a time when Australia and India’s playing XI were full of worldclass batting talent. Not just record breakers but batters who had been around for a long time and knew exactly how to adapt to the decidedly different rhythms of a Test match. A series between the two teams was often billed as a battle of the bat.

How the tables have turned. The batting line-ups of both teams are struggling for form and Day 1 of the first Test at the Optus Stadium here was an apt example of where things stand. After electing to bat first on a spicy wicket, India were bowled out for 150 (and even that counts as a recovery). In reply, Australia were in big trouble too, ending the day on 67/7, trailing by 83 runs.

In the middle at stumps were Alex Carey, Australia’s most in-form batter, on 19 and Mitchell Starc (6*). If they can do for Australia what Rishabh Pant (37) and Nitish Reddy (41) did for India, we could be in for a thriller.

The lowest that Australia have been bowled out for at Perth is 76 against the West Indies in 1984. Don’t rule that out either. This isn’t the same venue though — cricket has moved from the WACA ground --- but the performance will undoubtedly dent Australia’s confidence in a big way.

There were some poor shots during the day but mostly it was the bowlers who did not put a foot wrong. It was a classic case of why a surface should not be judged until both teams have batted on it.

Both sides struggled to adapt their batting approach to the conditions. It was a good surface for bowling but it certainly wasn’t this bad. There was pace and bounce but not alarming seam movement. But the batters needed some momentum — not just the kind that you get with big shots — and they never found that.

The day started off with three slips and a gully, Josh Hazlewood and Starc simply giving nothing away in the first hour. The batters were in trouble more often than not. It was to be expected at a stadium where Pakistan had been bowled out for 89 in December 2023.

Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for a duck trying to drive on the up, Devdutt Padikkal followed with another duck. Virat Kohli went soon after for 5. In the morning session, the most impressive bat was KL Rahul.

He looked tight and in control. Not chasing anything or not doing anything outrageous. The calm Rahul displayed brought back memories of his knock at Lord’s in 2021 when he made 129 off 250 balls while batting for 397 minutes. When he was finally dismissed for 26, he had batted 74 balls. He can do this too.

But, as wicket after wicket fell, India were reduced to 73/6 and desperately needed someone to do the rescue act. It arrived in the form of a 48-run stand between Rishabh Pant and Nitish Reddy, which was big on guts, smarts and a bit of luck.

It got the Indian innings going but even then, 150 seemed a bit under-par. It felt like a throwback to the tough tours in the 90s. But even if the Indian batters lack some confidence, the bowlers certainly don’t.

Jasprit Bumrah emerged breathing fire — as if to say that India weren’t going to crash and burn on his watch. He pegged Australia back with a brilliance that most teams around the world have now learned to fear.

The 31,302 crowd that turned up to watch the game were treated to a display that would have done Lillee and Thommo proud. It was a combination of Lillee’s smarts and Thommo’s threat and Australia had no answer. Currently, no one in the world does.

The India skipper claimed the first three wickets (including Steve Smith for a first-ball duck) to leave Australia tottering at 19/3 before debutante Harshit Rana produced a beauty to bowl out the dangerous Travis Head (11).

Mohammed Siraj joined the party to send back Mitchell Marsh (6) and the stubborn Marnus Labuschagne (2 off 52 balls) and India had managed to get out of trouble just as easily as they had fallen into it. It required some inspired bowling but this is a Test now being played in fast-forward mode.

Starc, in the post-day presser, said that he doesn’t expect the wicket to get better in the second innings. “There’s some cracks out there, so I wouldn’t imagine so, no,” said the Australian pacer.

So, any lead will be worth its weight in gold. Carey can score some quick runs and could be dangerous for India on Day 2 but if the visitors get him early, they will put themselves in the driver’s seat. However, given how low the batting standards have been, such a prediction is rife with danger.