India 1-77 after day one, trailing Australia by 100 runs
India’s spinners dominated day one in Nagpur, dismissing the Aussies for a meek 177, as fans were left to wonder why one of the country’s best batters was left out of the team.
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Todd Murphy got his first Test wicket late on the first day of the opening Test of the Border Gavaskar trophy and while there was enthusiastic celebration there was not much else to write home about for the visitors.
A bold move by the selectors to drop Travis Head shocked Australian cricket, a bold promise from David Warner to bat right handed never eventuated and the visitors found itself in trouble despite getting what is presumably the best of conditions.
Pat Cummins confirmed that Murphy would make his debut at the top but blindsided everybody by presenting a team sheet at the toss which did not include Head who has been so impressive of late.
Australia just could not hold out India’s spinners on the first day after winning the toss and were dismissed for just 177 with both openers were dismissed for one run each.
To make matters worse, India’s opener, Rohit Sharma knocked up a sparkling 56no, the Indian captain feasting on some unusually poor bowling from his opposite number Cummins, to have India 1-77 at stumps.
Murphy despite his inexperience out bowled his senior partner Nathan Lyon during a session dominated by the Indian bats.
Were it not for partnerships of 82 by Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne and 53 by Peter Handscomb things could have been much worse.
Australia lost 6-98 in the second session and is on the back foot.
Handscomb, playing his first Test in four years said the Australians believed they were still in the game.
“Morale is good, it’s a good bunch of boys, the music was back on after we walked back in. The feeling in this group coming back in is really nice and really calm and no matter what happens on the field when you walk back in at the end of the day it is the same emotion no matter what.
“It is not how we wanted to start the series but things can happen quickly and if we can start well tomorrow we can put ourselves in a good position.”
Handscomb praised Ravi Jadeja, who took 5-47.
“It’s tough out there Jadeja was obviously bowling very well, not really giving our batsmen a lot to hit and I found him tough to score (against),” Handscomb said.
“My plan was just to bat for as long as possible, then eventually get some runs. Hope you nick a couple or push a couple through the odd gap here and there. I just wanted to try and be there as long as possible.
“It definitely wasn’t easy out there. The Indian team bowl really well as a unit and didn’t give us much to score off.
“It’s tough because when the pitch is playing tricks that starts to play with your mind a little bit as well. The ball that doesn’t do as much you expect to do a little bit more and that’s where you can come undone with the ball that goes straight on, rather than the big turners we saw out there as well.”
Smith and Labuschagne’s partnership demonstrated just how good the pair are and just how difficult it is to bat in Indian conditions against bowlers the class of these.
Coming together with the score 2-2 in the third over, the pair put on 76 to lunch but both fell victim to Ravi Jadeja’s jazz before reaching their half centuries.
Labuschagne was deceived and stumped on 49 and Smith for 37. Both batted brilliantly but you are never in in India when the two Ravis – Jadeja and Ashwin and the single Axar Patel are in their element.
The seamers did the early damage but the spinners spun a web in the second session taking wickets at regular intervals.
Matthew Renshaw fell first ball, but his replacement Alex Carey started as he has in the past with a reverse sweep and then advanced at quicker than a run a ball to 36 before being bowled around his legs attempting another reverse to Ashwin.
The Australian dressing room was well populated with rueful Australian cricketers long before Usman Khawaja’s pads interrupted the flight of a Mohammed Shami delivery and David Warner’s off stump was sent cart wheeling courtesy of Mohammad Siraj.
Smith and Labuschagne, as has become their wont, were both wearing pads as the national anthems were sung. A practice that may arise from habit and hopefully not lack of confidence in the opening pair.
As it turned out the pair were both needed in the middle 13 deliveries into the morning.
Travis Head’s day, however, had started even worse. The hard hitting middle order batsman had been tapped on the shoulder the day before by selectors and told that Matthew Renshaw and Peter Handscomb were both in the side and he was out (Cam Green had not recovered from injury).
It was a bold move and one that was as stunning to observers as it was shocking to the South Australian cricket captain.
Head scored two centuries and averaged 60 against England at home in 2021-22 and over 100 across the two series just completed against the West Indies and South Africa.
He has a career average of 45 from 33 Tests and is the incumbent.
That should have made him impervious to any challenge from Sheffield Shield land. Admittedly Handscomb and Renshaw have scaled the lofty heights before, but it is simply extraordinary that a man scoring so many runs _ and at such a pace _ could be replaced.
It is, however, not completely inexplicable.
Head’s Achilles’ heel was his batting on Asian wickets. He did not pass 26 in his seven innings in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
There were calls going into the summer that he perhaps could not be included in the India series because of those outings, but they’d been forgotten after he proved himself such a useful contributor in the summer.
The selectors obviously had not forgotten.
Warner teased before the Test that he may bat right handed to counter the premature wear outside his off stump, but it was a familiar delivery that accounted for his dismissal which came at the other end from that danger zone.
Shami came, Stuart Broad style, around the wicket to the veteran opener skidded a ball through Warner’s reaching defence and sent his off stump tumbling toward the boundary in a manner that guarantees it will be replayed time and time and time again.
Both openers looked to have been caught out by balls that kept low and both were dismissed for the lowest of single figure scores.
Boxing Day double aside, Warner is in something of a bare patch, but those of us who wrote him off before the Melbourne innings will show a little more grace and patience this time around. Once bitten and all that …
And then there was the wicket. Or wickets.
One end bore little relation to the other and one side at one end differed notably from its opposite.
It did not, however, dissolve in the manner expected. It spun significantly early, reared occasionally and kept low early but like much of life was worse in the imagining than the experience.
FOLLOW ALL THE DAY ONE ACTION BELOW WITH NEWS CORP CRICKET WRITER BEN HORNE.
10.02PM EAGLE-EYED FAN SPOTS BIZARRE JADEJA BALL RUBBING
A forensic fan on Twitter has posted a bizarre video of Ravindra Jadeja rubbing the ball during his bulldozing bowling performance.
Jadeja took a scintillating 5-47 and was the difference between the two teams in a superb return to Test cricket in Nagpur.
But social media followers were left scratching their heads at a moment when Australia was 5-120 and Jadeja appeared to go up to a teammate and place his fingers on the top of his buddy’s wrist.
Jadeja then rubs his fingers over the ball in a series of twisting movements as he prepares to bowl an over.
Perhaps it’s just acquiring some sweat from a heavily perspiring teammate – but it was an unusual moment.
But as social media was musing, Australian debutant Todd Murphy fired with his first Test wicket with only nine balls left in the day.
India is 1-76 after Murphy claimed KL Rahul caught and bowled to get off the mark as a Test cricketer.
Teammates swarmed the young Victorian who has impressed commentators with his first foray into the big leagues.
However, Australia still has plenty of work to do to get back into the contest after Jadeja’s dominance on day one.
Nothing to see here pic.twitter.com/e2IaYV3B1z
— Julian Timmins (@Mightypumper) February 9, 2023
9.48PM INDIAN GREAT’S FEAR FOR NATHAN LYON
Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri has expressed fears for how Nathan Lyon will perform in the first Test without partner in crime Mitchell Starc playing the match.
Lyon usually benefits from having left-armer Starc creating footmarks for him to expose on turning wickets.
But with Starc injured and out of the first Test, Shastri says Australia’s lack of venom with the ball on day one exposed how much the visitors are missing Starc (finger fracture).
“I think what Nathan Lyon is really missing is Mitch Starc in the Australian side. When Mitch Starc bowls over the wicket and creates that rough, that encourages Lyon big time,” Shastri said on commentary.
“There’s no left armer playing this game.”
Australian great Matthew Hayden lamented the fact Australia barely looked like creating a chance as Indian skipper Rohit Sharma smashed a brilliant half century.
India is 0-74 after 22 overs.
9.08PM CUMMINS COPS EARLY TREATMENT FROM HUNGRY INDIANS
Pat Cummins has been smashed at over seven runs an over from his opening three overs as Indian skipper Rohit Sharma attempts to take down his opposite number on day one.
Defending just 177 after a chaotic first innings, Australia was put on the back foot early in their bowling innings by the rampant Rohit.
India has raced to 0-35 after just nine overs, with Rohit 31 off just 28.
Smashing six boundaries in the opening eight overs, Rohit took a particular liking to the normally super economic Cummins.
Scott Boland (one run per over) and Nathan Lyon have managed to keep the screws on but Cummins was carted for 23 runs off just three overs.
Fox Cricket expert Mark Waugh said it was danger signs for Australia.
“There’s no sweeter timer of the ball. Such a clean striker,” Waugh said.
Former Indian star Dinesh Karthik said in commentary that Rohit had made it his personal mission as captain to take down the head of the Australian snake.
“Being the captain he wants to set the tempo,” Karthik said.
8.19PM HANDSCOMB ROCK AND ROLLED BY THE ROCKSTAR
The late Shane Warne nicknamed Ravindra Jadeja “The Rockstar” and he lived up to his reputation with a bulldozing performance against Australia on day one of the first Test.
Under an injury cloud leading into the series, Jadeja exploded back into the fray, taking five wickets – with Peter Handscomb (31) his fifth victim.
Australia has been bowled out for 177 in its first innings shortly after tea and short of where they would want to be after electing to bat first.
However, if the wicket plays as tough as what the hosts are expecting, then they may not be out of the match just yet.
Ravi Ashwin claimed his 450th Test wicket amid the carnage, cleaning up Scott Boland to complete the job within just 64 overs.
Australia were just two down at the lunch break, but lost eight wickets in just over a session to lose control of the Test.
Handscomb looked among the best of the Aussie batsmen, but the decision to axe Travis Head has been put under a searing microscope after the collapsing total.
Matthew Renshaw who was essentially preferred over Head in a choice of left-handers, was out for a golden duck – albeit slightly unlucky.
Todd Murphy and Nathan Lyon must now fight back.
7.45PM SIX WICKETS FALL IN SESSION BUT AUSSIES NOT OUT OF HUNT
It’s advantage India in the first Test, but Australia aren’t out of the hunt.
At the tea break, Australia is 8-174 and will feel they have something to defend if they can claw their way to a score of 200 plus.
In an action packed second session on day one, Australia lost six wickets – with Ravindra Jadeja taking six of them.
But on the flip side, Australia still managed to score 98 runs with Alex Carey (36 off 33) with an excellent rearguard innings.
Fox Cricket expert said at times Australia was in control but lost wickets at the wrong time.
Peter Handscomb (29 not out) has been a rock for Australia after the rapid losses of Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw and Steve Smith soon after lunch left the visitors shellshocked.
Fox commentator Mark Waugh believes Handscomb needs to start playing his shots with positivity the only ticket Australia has to a competitive score.
7.29PM THIRD TIME LUCKY FOR ‘SLEEPY’ VIRAT
Virat Kohli was savaged for dropping two catches, but he took his third chance to dismiss Pat Cummins late in the second session of day one.
Australia is 8-173 and in desperate need of the tail wagging alongside Peter Handscomb (28 not out).
Todd Murphy fell cheaply on debut, trapped lbw by Ravindra Jadeja who now has four wickets for the innings.
Former Australian star Mark Waugh – one of the greatest slip fieldsmen in the history of the game – declared Kohli was “not in the game” with his slow reaction time at first slip.
Kohli dropped Steve Smith when he was on 6, only for him to go onto make 37, and also put down an opportunity given by Peter Handscomb who remains not out 27.
“He’s just not in the game there,” Waugh said on Fox about Kohli’s lack of technqiue at slip.
“Technically there’s a lot of things Virat can improve on with his technique in the sips.
“His feet are too wide apart, he stands up too high. When your feet are too wide hard to move side to side. “He just hasn’t reacted as well. I know there’s a deflection but you want to see your fist slip look like he’s in the game there.”
However, Kohli didn’t make any mistakes when Cummins shelled one right into his hands.
7.02PM CAREY TAKES ON HEAD ROLE AS AUSSIES FIGHT BACK
There’s no Travis Head, but South Australian teammate Alex Carey took it upon himself to play the role of the momentum-changing left-hander.
That was until his brilliant cameo of 36 off 33 came to an end when he played on from an attempted reverse sweep to give Ravi Ashwin his 450th Test wicket.
Australia is now right on the edge at 6-168 and desperately needing comeback kid Peter Handscomb (23 not out off 50) to kick onto a big score with the tail providing support.
Carey struck at a run-a-ball from the moment he arrived at the crease after the rapid departures of Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw and Steve Smith.
From a position of peril at 5-109, Carey and recalled star Handscomb turned the tables on India with an unbeaten 44 run partnership off little more than 60 balls.
On a pitch where batting is likely to get extremely difficult as the Test goes on, Carey and Handscomb looked to be putting Australia in a very decent position in the Test with a rapid-fire partnership of 53 off 68.
But while the sweep shot had been Carey’s strength, it also proved his downfall.
Handscomb controversially came into the side at the expense of Head – although in reality it was Renshaw who was preferred over Head once selectors decided they wanted right-hander Handscomb in the line-up.
Commentators said India had started to “lose control” of a Test they had by the collar before Carey came to the crease.
It’s the positive style of cricket that has regenerated English cricket.
But with Carey out, India is back in command, although if Australia can claw its way to 240 they are in the match up to their eyeballs.
6.41pM ALARM BELLS SOUND IN NAGPUR
Alarm bells are ringing in Nagpur.
For Australia, but also for every no ball.
The first time the siren at the venue sounded for a Ravindra Jadeja front-foot no ball, viewers would have been forgiven for thinking a fire alarm had been set off at the ground.
Maybe Haydos’ burning his toast in the commentary box, or perhaps even more serious than that.
But no – it was just a no-ball.
Jadeja sounded the siren plenty of times with his penchant for overstepping, but unfortunately for Australia, the real alarm bells were ringing for the dismissals he was inflicting.
There aren't enough no-ball sirens in Test cricket#INDvAUS
— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) February 9, 2023
Jadeja sets off the siren for the second time. #IndvAus
— Rick Eyre on cricket (@rickeyrecricket) February 9, 2023
6.25PM JADEJA DESTROYS AUSTRALIA WITH SMITH LATEST TO FALL
Indian giant killer Ravindra Jadeja has continued his decimation of Australia with the potentially match-defining wicket of Steve Smith.
After knocking over Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Renshaw in successive balls, Jadeja returned two overs later to add Smith to his list of victims with Australia reeling at 5-109.
Smith had played superbly and had just put the pressure back on India by smashing Axar Patel for three fours in an over in response to the Labuschagne and Renshaw setbacks.
But Smith then missed a straight-one from the left-arm magician.
Jadeja was in danger of missing the series with injury, but is now in danger of destroying Australian hopes.
6.11PM SPOTLIGHT ON SELECTORS OVER HEAD DUMPING AFTER RENSHAW GOLDEN DUCK
The heat is on selectors’ controversial dumping of Travis Head, after Australia’s new No.5 Matthew Renshaw got a first ball duck in India.
Australia were going along smoothly after lunch with Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne at the crease, but disaster struck when Indian spin master Ravindra Jadeja claimed two crucial wickets in two balls to leave the visitors back on the precipice at 4-84.
The first was Labuschagne, out stumped for 49 with a beautiful delivery that spun sharply and bamboozled the in-form Australian anchor who looked set for a big score.
But the blow was compounded next delivery when Renshaw – in just his second Test back after years’ in the wilderness- was trapped lbw for a golden duck.
Renshaw was part of the last Test in Sydney so was not brought in for Head – but he essentially became the preferred left-hander once Australia decided they needed right-hander Peter Handscomb in the line-up to combat the allegedly doctored conditions.
Fox Cricket expert Mark Waugh said Renshaw was “unlucky” to cop a sliding delivery like the Queenslander got from Jadeja first ball.
Renshaw reviewed the dismissal and the ball was only clipping leg-stump on umpire’s call – but that was enough to give him his marching orders.
Test great Steve Waugh suggested selectors may have “overanalysed” in their decision to dump Head – the world’s No.4 batsman and Australia’s best during the home summer.
Head is also a more than handy off-spinner and Australia lose his abilities with the ball by not picking him.
5.11PM AUSTRALIAN BROMANCE RESCUES VISITORS FROM DISASTER IN NAGPUR
Cricket’s greatest bromance has rescued Australia from a potential disaster in Nagpur, as ex-greats were still coming to terms with Travis Head’s stunning axing.
Australia is 2-76 at lunch on day one, with Marnus Labuschagne 47 not out off 110, while Steve Smith is 19 off 74 balls.
After early drama, Australia now has a platform from which to build on in their bid to create a historical upset in the first Test.
On a morning of high drama in Nagpur, excitement over Todd Murphy’s Test debut was at least temporarily superseded by shock over the decision to drop Head – the summer’s best batsman – for right-hander Peter Handscomb.
But it was quickly reality check time for the Australians on day one, with Usman Khawaja (1) and David Warner (1) both exiting within the first three overs.
Khawaja was out lbw to Mohammed Siraj after the Indians went upstairs to DRS with just one second left on the timer.
Commentators were slightly stunned the ball swung enough to be out.
Warner’s dismissal was then put under the microscope by commentators Mark Waugh and Matt Hayden as he struggled to get forward enough to a prune of a delivery from Mohammad Shami who found a way between bat and pad to clip off-stump.
But enter right-handed Batman and Robin, Smith and Labuschagne.
The pairing immediately embraced the grind and got stuck into their work with a masterful unbeaten 50-run stand.
Smith was given a life on 6 when Virat Kohli dropped a crucial chance at first slip.
It would have been a screamer of a grab had Kohli taken it, but Waugh observed that the Indian great didn’t seem ready for a catch and was too slow to react.
Labuschagne looked the best, using his feet brilliantly and manipulating the field on his way to the verge of another half century.
Smith hasn’t had as much of the strike but his defence against India’s spin arsenal has been close to faultless.
4.41PM ‘SLEEPY’ KOHLI SHELLS SMITH IN CRUCIAL TURNING POINT
A sleepy Virat Kohli has been made to pay for the costly drop of Steve Smith on 6. But how big a moment will it prove in the long-run.
Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have grinded their way to a crucial 50-run partnership after coming together at 2-2 in just the third over of the Test.
David Warner’s struggles in India continued, bowled by a sharp delivery from Mohammad Shami, while Usman Khawaja was trapped lbw on a DRS review from India.
But Australia could have been in genuine crisis had Kohli held a chance offered to him at slip from Smith early in his innings.
Smith attempted a full-blooded drive, and the edge hit Kohli in the palm and bounced out.
In commentary on Fox Cricket, Mark Waugh – one of the greatest slip catchers of all time – said that Kohli appeared as though he wasn’t expecting an edge and paid the price for being a fraction of a second late in his reaction.
Smith (15 off 57) and Labuschagne (32 off 86) have batted superbly and put Australia in a strong position.
4.25pm HOW ‘SHOCKED’ HEAD HAS DEALT WITH BOMBSHELL AXING
Travis Head arrived with the Australian batsmen on the day before the match but was noticeably absent from the nets, writes News Corp expert on the ground, Peter Lalor.
He was seen later spending time with the team psychologist as he apparently tried to process the news of his sensational exclusion.
Speaking on commentary broadcast on Fox Cricket, Test great Matthew Hayden suggested Head was himself in disbelief.
“I can’t believe it. Mark Waugh actually was right next to him, and nor could Travis Head in that brief conversation,” Hayden said on Fox.
The controversial pitch preparations appear to have caused concerns for the BCCI too with senior officials spending a protracted period examining the extraordinary patch outside the left handers off stump at one end.
The officials and curators studied the area and were later seen bouncing a ball at different points along the wicket.
Venues which prepare poor wickets can be deducted points and suspended from hosting matches.
In India, however, it is not the local cricket association that prepares the pitch, even though it is the one punished.
3.47pm WAUGH BEMUSED OVER HEAD SELECTION SNUB
Test legends Steve Waugh and Matthew Hayden have become the first high profile Australian greats to question the shock axing of Travis Head for the first Test in India.
Hayden said he was speechless that arguably Australia’s best batsman of the summer would be dumped for Peter Handscomb as a horses for courses bombshell.
Speaking on commentary broadcast on Fox Cricket, Hayden suggested Head was himself in disbelief.
“I can’t believe it. Mark Waugh actually was right next to him, and nor could Travis Head in that brief conversation,” Hayden said on Fox.
“For me he was player of the summer. Totally different conditions I know in Brisbane at the Gabba but his 90 in Brisbane was just so damn good. He made it like it was flat and it wasn’t. It was an absolute raging green top.
“But his mindset and his ability to be able to score quickly … I’m just speechless.”
Waugh was willing to give selectors the benefit of the doubt until after the innings, but questioned whether George Bailey and Andrew McDonald have “overanalysed” the decision to drop Head.
“Hard to believe we can drop the number 4 ranked test batsman in the world and probably our best batsman in the last 12 months plus he bowls better than average off spin – let’s wait and see- maybe the Aussie selectors are genius’s! #gamble #overanalysing? #waitandsee,” posted Waugh to social media.
Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have launched a gutsy rescue mission after the early losses of Usman Khawaja and David Warner.
Steve Waugh weighs in on Travis Head's omission from the first Test #INDvAUSpic.twitter.com/JDIXfb6KJr
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) February 9, 2023
3.19PM WARNER GONE
Australia is in early disarray with David Warner following fellow opener Usman Khawaja back into the sheds after some superb Indian swing bowling.
After the stunning axing of Travis Head, Australia find themselves 2-6 and with Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith needing to perform a rescue mission in Nagpur if the visitors are going to overcome the early drama.
Mark Waugh said on Fox Cricket that Warner left too big a gap between his pad and bat and was too far back on the crease as Mohammad Shami took his off-stump in just the third over of the Test.
It followed Khawaja falling to a tight DRS review which India asked for just one second before the timer expired.
Commentators felt live that the ball to Khawaja was only clipping his leg-stump but replays sent him on his way.
Australia were worried about too many left-handers in their line-up and two of them are already gone.
3.08PM KHAWAJA GONE
Usman Khawaja is out and Australia is 1-2 after a perfectly-timed DRS from India. He goes lbw to Siraj. And here’s a look at the area which had Australia spooked.
3PM FANS REACT TO HEAD STUNNER
Tim Michell
Cricket fans and journalists have been left stunned by Australia’s decision to back Matthew Renshaw and Peter Handscomb over Travis Head in the first Test.
While Head’s record outside Australia is poor, he was arguably Australia’s best-performed batsman in home series against South Africa and West Indies.
It was expected a selection shootout between Handscomb and Renshaw would decide the No.6 batting spot, with the Victorian skipper firming due to a pitch set to terrorise left-handers.
But it was instead Head who was left out when the teams were unveiled on Thursday.
Zac Standish tweeted: “How you can justify dropping Travis Head is honestly ridiculous. Even if he isn’t the best player of spin he has the runs on the board to be given a chance. About as ridiculous a selection call as I can remember.”
Tristan Lavalette added: “Surely Travis Head had to be backed in for the first Test. Massive call – not just for this match and series but his standing moving forward. Hard to remember a more brutal axing for an Australian player.”
SA-based journalist Corey Norris summed up the mood in Adelaide, tweeting: “That’s a terrible decision. Needed to give him a chance to prove he’s worked on his technique against spin,” while Xavier Ellis said: “WTF… one of the few I love watching.”
News Corp’s Daniel Cherny described the bombshell as “the boldest horses for courses selection decision Australia has made in decades, possibly ever.”
2,35PM HEAD DUMPED IN SELECTION SHOCK
Selectors have dropped a selection bombshell by axing arguably Australia’s best batsman of the summer Travis Head for the first Test in India.
Australia has won what could be a crucial toss on a treacherous wicket and will bat first in Nagpur.
In a conditions based selection, right-hander Peter Handscomb has been thrust in to play his first Test since 2019 to combat the allegedly doctored pitch in Nagpur designed to thwart Australia’s left-hand heavy batting line-up.
However the major shock which will leave Aussie fans stunned is that it is Head and not Matthew Renshaw who is making way for Handscomb.
Head struggled in the sub-continent last year against Pakistan and Sri Lanka but was determined to reinvent himself on this trip by adopting an ultra-aggressive style.
Even though it’s a conditions based decision to get spin-adept Renshaw and Handscomb into the team, it’s still a bitter pill for Head to swallow given he has been Australia’s best batsman at home for the last two summers.
His ability to take a game away from an opposition in a session makes him a unique commodity.
But Australia still don’t feel his spin skills are good enough for such extreme conditions and he has been relegated to 12th man.
As pointed to first by News Corp, Todd Murphy makes his Test debut as Nathan Lyon’s spin partner.
2:25pm SKY THE LIMIT FOR INDIA
India has handed a stunning Test debut to T20 phenomenon, Suryakumar “SKY” Yadav as the hosts throw down the gauntlet to Australia in Nagpur.
Yadav has forged a reputation as a six-hitting freak in the white ball formats, but 79 first-class matches he finally gets to pull a Test shirt on for India, aged 32.
SKY will attack from the outset and will put the pressure on Australia to play with an aggressive mindset in the first Test in Nagpur.
Todd Murphy has received his baggy green as confirmation the Victorian off-spinner will be making his Test debut for Australia.
Teams will be confirmed at the toss shortly.
EARLIER REPORTS
India’s targeted doctoring of the Nagpur wicket has David Warner seriously considering batting right-handed at times in today’s first Test match and seen selectors call Todd Murphy up to the team to make his debut for Australia after just a handful of games for his state.
Murphy, is going to make his Test debut after one of the more remarkable rises from obscurity in Australian bowling history.
The 22-year-old will be presented his baggy green after just five games for Victoria.
Warner is understood to be considering batting right handed to counter India’s pitch doctoring designed to foil Australia’s long list of left handed batsmen.
He has been practicing right-handed at times in the nets and told teammates he would do the same but it remains to be seen if he is bold enough to do it in a Test.
NAGPUR DEBUT ALERT!
— Peter Lalor (@plalor) February 9, 2023
Todd Murphy marks out his run up next to veteran Nathan Lyon. #nagpurtestpic.twitter.com/OtamEAk27Z
There is a patch outside the left-hander’s off stump that appears to have been doctored to create more turn.
Australia’s top order is dominated by left handers while India’s has none,
Warner batted an entire season in junior cricket right handed and sustained the same performances across the season.
Joe Root batted left handed for two deliveries in a Test against Pakistan at Rawalpindi in December to counter the spin.
Sunil Gavaskar did similar in a Ranji Trophy semi-final in 1982 to counter the left arm spinner and swapped to a more orthodox approach for the right armrest.
📸 | Just an image of Davey batting right-handed for real 🤯
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) February 8, 2023
See you on the field tomorrow, @davidwarner31 👊ðŸ¼#INDvAUS#BorderGavaskarTrophypic.twitter.com/tbcY7XjdYL
Murphy’s rise from obscurity to the Test team has come at extraordinary speed.
Even Shane Warne had played seven before his debut in 1991.
An phenomenal talent who impresses all who see him, he made his Australia A debut after two games.
Murphy had a long meeting with coaches and Nathan Lyon on the eve of the match, New Zealand legend and spin bowling coach Daniel Vettori is on hand to guide him in his preparation.
Vettori made his debut after just two first class games.
Both players began life as medium pacers. Vettori was convinced to give up seam bowling by his college head master and was just 18 when the new skill gave him entrée to the national team.
Murphy was bowling medium pace at a rep trial in Shepparton when a chance encounter with former Victorian spinner Craig Howard changed the course of his life.
Howard, who was there to watch his son and had no involvement with the squad, saw the aspiring batsman sending down some off spin.
Murphy was bowling slow because he’d grown tired of his stock medium pace deliveries.
Howard mentioned to the coaches that he thought the teen was the best off-spinner they had and changed the course of his life.
Murphy moved to Bendigo to play for Sandhurst where he was coached by Howard who lives in the Victorian city.
Australia’s decision to go with two off-spinners is extraordinary but Ashton Agar has struggled with his rhythm since arriving in India.
The last time an Australian side played two off-spinners was in 1988 when Peter Taylor and Tim May teamed up across the border from India in Karachi.
‘BULL****’: LEGEND SLAMS PITCH DOCTOR TALK
Outspoken former India head coach Ravi Shastri has claimed talk around Nagpur’s suspect pitch is a case of sour grapes.
Claims of a ‘pitch fix’ has dominated the first Test narrative following evidence of local ground staff deliberately trying to doctor the wicket in India’s favour.
Shastri, however, dropped the tried and true method of deflecting criticism of a pitch.
“That’s bulls--t,” Shastri told SEN Sporstday.
“It’s more hype than anything else surrounding this first Test match.
“It always happens, you get 15mm grass, 18mm grass or 12mm grass in different places around the ground … at the end of this first Test, I’m sure there’ll be someone who scores a hundred.
“If someone can get a hundred or 80+ on that pitch, they’ve played well and he will go and say, ‘What’s wrong with the pitch? You stay there, you apply yourself, your shot selection is good, you get runs’.
“But if you go out there and think you’re going to smash every ball, good luck to you.”
Good luck indeed if you are one of Australia’s many left-handed bats. The two sections of the pitch seemingly left unattended by the Nagpur curator are the roughs outside the left-handers off stump. Maybe Australia should have had its warm-up matches on the Lake Eyre basin ...
INDIAN TOUR CRYSTAL BALL: WHO WINS, WHO STARS, WHO TO FEAR?
Australia are attempting to win their first series in India in almost 20 years and while Pat Cummins and his men might be the current world No.1 rated Test team, there is no more daunting task in cricket than trying to win on Indian soil.
News Corp’s leading cricket writers take a look at the upcoming series with some bold and fearless predictions about what Australia simply must do if they’re to create history over the next month and become the first Aussie team to win a series in India since 2004.
BEN HORNE
Who wins the series:
India 2-1. These teams are evenly matched but the conditions are extreme – and made even more extreme by allegations of Indian pitch doctoring.
Star of the series:
Steve Smith. Appears in golden form and usually when Smith is in that kind of mood it transcends formats and conditions. One of the best batsmen against spin in the world.
The selection gamble Australia must make:
Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green to come straight back for the second Test. Australia needs its big guns and the pairing changes the entire complexion of the Aussie line-up.
The Indian player Australia should fear most:
Ravindra Jadeja. Freak of a player who dominated the 2017 series and with bat and ball could prove the point of difference in this series.
What will be the biggest challenge for Pat Cummins this tour?
Getting through the physical and mental workload of playing every Test with little fast bowling support. Australia can’t afford to burn Cummins’ out before the Ashes.
ROBERT CRADDOCK
Who wins the series:
India 2-1. Australia are off balance with three key injuries. I sense they will improve in whatever they do in the first Test but India are just so hard at home.
Star of the series:
Ravi Jadeja may be short on recent form but his darting spin is so difficult to play. If Scott Boland gets a start he will surprise people.
The selection gamble Australia must make:
Alex Carey to No 6 and play five bowlers while Cam Green is out. It is a big gamble but an essential one. C’mon Australia. Be bold.
The Indian player Australia should fear most:
Spinner Axar Patel has a Test bowling average over 11 runs per wicket for his short career. Not a man to be underestimated.
What will be the biggest challenge for Pat Cummins this tour?
Staying cool and calm. It’s the only way Australia can beat India. Once the Indians get fired up they take the crowd with them it all becomes too much.
PETER LALOR
Who wins the series:
History says India will win but I’ve got a nagging feeling the Australians can almost do it. Almost. India 2-1. Hope I’m wrong.
Star of the series:
Virat Kohli or Steve Smith. Both former captains. Both on the rise again. Runs are hard and valuable because of that. Wickets will be easier and Axar Patel will take lots.
The selection gamble Australia must make:
Todd Murphy. Todd Murphy. And Todd Murphy.
The Indian player Australia should fear most:
Axar Patel has been bowling brilliantly. He was magnificent against England.
What will be the biggest challenge for Pat Cummins this tour?
Pat Cummins’ biggest challenge will be getting through the first Test without Cam Green. If he gets them through unscathed look out.
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Originally published as India 1-77 after day one, trailing Australia by 100 runs
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