Twitter Reactions: Ravindra Jadeja's brilliant comeback sees India dominate Australia on opening day

Jadeja picked up a five-wicket haul which included crucial wickets of Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, and Peter Handscomb.

By Vaishnavi Thiagarajan Iyer

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Jadeja
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Jadeja. (Photo Source: BCCI)

The much-awaited Border Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia finally kicked off on February 9, Thursday as the two teams locked horns at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. The first day of the first Test saw Indian bowlers dominate after being asked to bowl first as the Pat Cummins-led Australian side could not do much against either pace or spin.

The day started with Australia winning the toss and opting to bat first. While the Australians were preparing to face the Indian spinners by looking at the condition of the pitches, the pacers got India off to a fiery start as Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami dismissed the opposition openers, David Warner and Usman Khawaja.

The Australian dugout was stunned when the openers walked back to the pavilion, but all eyes were then on Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, who have been the backbone of Australia’s batting unit. After suffering two early blows, the duo managed to survive the first session with ease. They returned after Lunch and put up an 82-run stand for the third wicket before Ravindra Jadeja wreaked havoc on the field.

The all-rounder, who marked his return to international cricket after a gap of more than five months, was very impressive with the ball. Jadeja struck consecutively in the last two balls of the 36th over. After dismissing the in-form Labuschagne for a 123-ball 49, Jadeja sent Matt Renshaw packing for a golden duck. Just when Smith and Peter Handscomb started building the innings back, Jadeja struck again and dismissed the former.

The game was then dominated by the spinners as Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja joined hands to dismantle the Australian lineup. Handscomb and Alex Carey put up a 53-run stand for the sixth wicket, but Ashwin got the crucial breakthrough and became the fastest Indian, and second fastest overall, to get to 450 Test wickets. Later, Jadeja picked up a five-wicket haul as Australia were dished out for 177 runs in 63.5 overs.

Rohit Sharma hands India a strong start with the bat

India started off their innings after a short break as skipper Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul walked out to bat. While Rohit got to business from the word go, Rahul opted to play defensive. The duo put up 76 runs in 138 deliveries for the first wicket partnership before Australian debutant Todd Murphy struck to pick up his maiden Test wicket and dismissed Rahul. With the day’s play coming to an end, Ashwin walked out to bat and joined the skipper as India finished at 77/1, trailing exactly by 100 runs.

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India vs Australia 2023IndiaAustraliaMarnus LabuschagneSteven SmithRavichandran AshwinRavindra JadejaDavid WarnerRohit Sharma