India ended Day 1 of the Boxing-Day Test on 36 for 1 after bowling out Australia for 195 in the first innings. This happened after Tim Paine won the toss and opted to bat first. A total of 11 wickets fell on the first day with bowlers from both teams having a say. However, there was some good batting on display as well from both sides. More on the Day 1 report Boxing-Day Test in detail below.
Australia opted to bat first after winning the toss, however, their start wasn’t a good one. Joe Burns was out for a duck in the fifth over of the Australian innings. Matthew Wade (30) tried to play with an aggressive intent and was joined by Marnus Labuschagne (48) at number three. The duo added 25 runs together before Ravichandran Ashwin plotted the downfall of Wade in the 13th over.
India on driver’s seat after day 1
Wade was caught outside the circle trying to hit against the spin, The biggest Australian wicket of the day came two overs later in the 15 over when Ashwin dismissed Steve Smith for a duck. This was Smith’s first-ever duck in the first innings of a Test match. he came into the Boxing-Day Test match with incredible numbers but failed to open the account today.
After Smith’s wicket, Labuschagne and Travis Head (38) added an 86-run stand for the fourth wicket to stabilise the Australian innings. They did very well to bring Australia back into the game as they looked good for a big score.
However, after tea, Jasprit Bumrah was brought back into the attack and he brought his team back into the game. From 124 for 3 the Aussies were bowled out for 195 as Bumrah was the wrecker in chief. He took four wickets along with Ashwin’s three scalps as Australia lost five wickets in a spell of 45 runs. Matthew Wade, Australia’s hero in the last game was out for just 13.
Mohammed Siraj, who made his debut in this Test for India took two wickets. His dismissals included Labuschagne and Chris Green. He bowled a good channel and kept the Australian batsmen on their toes throughout the course of his spell.
India had to bat 11 overs after bowling Australia out. Shubman Gill (28) playing his first test came out to open the innings with Mayank Agarwal. Gill replaced Prithvi Shaw in the line-up after the latter scored a duck and 4 in the two innings in Adelaide. Gill looked assertive with his technique and footwork.
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After seeing off the initial spell from the Australian pacers, Gill opened up his shoulders as he hit five boundaries in his unbeaten innings of 28. This happened after India lost Agarwal without a run on the board. Agarwal’s failure has sparked the debate around the capability of the Indian openers in Australian conditions. Cheteshwar Pujara found himself batting late in the day. However, he negotiated the day well and remained unbeaten on 7 as India ended the day on 36 for 1, a score which they would be happy around finishing this time around.
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Boxing-Day Test: Day 1 – Brief Scores
India 36 for 1 (Gill 28*, Pujara 7*) trail Australia 195 (Labuschagne 48, Bumrah 4-56, Ashwin 3-35) by 159 runs
