Australia took the honour on Day 1 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, following a remarkable unbeaten hundred by Usman Khawaja. Earlier, the visitors won the toss and elected to bat first on a good batting track.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, landed at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Motera before the start of the match. Both the leaders handed over the Test caps to the two captains, Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith.
Travis Head was more aggressive between the two openers, but was dismissed by Ashwin after scoring 32 off 44 balls. Then Shami removed Marnus Labuschagne, and it looked like Indian bowlers would wreck the Australian batting lineup.
However, Usman Khawaja stood like a rock of Gibraltar and kept one end intact. Indian bowlers took some important wickets, but not in quick time. Skipper Smith and Handscomb succumbed to Jadeja and Shame, respectively.
After that, Green and Khawaja knitted a wonderful, unbeaten 85-run partnership. Since Green’s arrival on the pitch, he changed the complexion of the first day’s game with his aggressive batting. It was the day of Khawaja, as he completed a patient hundred, and his innings may help the visitors to square the series.
The first three Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy were a nightmare for the batters, and all three matches ended within three days. Incidentally, the team batting first ended as losers in the series so far.
The final Test pitch is looking far better, so batters have a better chance of scoring runs. Bowlers don’t have to toil; rather, they have to be disciplined and maintain the line and length.
The visitors took the honour on Day 1. Therefore, India needs to take quick wickets on the second day, otherwise Australia may dictate the terms in the ongoing Test match.
