In the last few major tournaments, Pat Cummins and company have delivered a devastating blow to Team India. But every time a fierce Indian team has visited Australia in recent years, they have managed to surprise the reigning World Test Championship (WTC) champions.
Fascinatingly, even though Cummins defeated the Men in Blue in their own in 2023 to win a big World Cup, the script was ultimately thrown out the window when Jasprit Bumrah, the top bowler for India, assumed charge of the squad after Rohit Sharma skipped the Perth Test for personal reasons. The outcome of the first Test undoubtedly silenced the Australian audience, despite the fact that both pacers are heading the team as the visitors enter the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024–25) after losing badly to New Zealand at home.
On Monday, November 25, Day 4, following one of Australia’s worst home defeats at the hands of a visiting Asian team, Bumrah wrote history under his leadership. Despite having a grassy surface available, the fiery Indian bowler made the audacious decision to bat first after winning the toss. After India crumbled to a pitiful 150 runs on the board in the first innings, the strategy appeared to backfire. But Australia was bowled out for just 107 runs after Bumrah took the lead with the ball from the front and captured an incredible five wickets.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, the openers, batted brilliantly to end Day 2 with 172 runs on the board without losing a wicket thanks to the pitch’s possum-playing in the second session. Despite losing a few wickets on the third day, Virat Kohli’s undefeated hundred (100*) and Jaiswal’s iconic father century (161) put the Indian team in control. Australia was consequently given a massive 534-run target.
Only Travis Head’s gutsy 89-run performance in reply demonstrated some tenacity and fight until Jasprit Bumrah outwitted him and Rishabh Pant caught him behind the wickets. Earlier, during the last session of Day 3, India gained ground by quickly taking three wickets from the Australian top order. With the exception of Head, the remainder of the batting lineup has been unable to bounce back from the initial shocks due to intense run chase pressure.
Bumrah took three wickets in the second innings as well, and Mohammed Siraj gave him a nice complement by taking three wickets at the other end. It was only a question of time till Australia was thrashed by a resounding 295 runs after being trapped on 238 runs. Consequently, Team India became the first team to win in Perth’s Optus Stadium. With the Indian team leading the series 1-0, the two teams will now play each other in Adelaide.
Meanwhile, check out top memes of the first Australia vs India Test here:
#ViratKohli
Nothing Changes Till Nowpic.twitter.com/PRCvM9mCmR
— Prof cheems ॐ (@Prof_Cheems) November 24, 2024
Travis Head watching Indian bowlers
#BGT2024 #BGT #BorderGavaskarTrophy #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/QZMGapjk4s
— Urban Memes Body (retd) (@UrbanMemesBody) November 25, 2024
India defeating Australia by 295 runs in 1st BGT test pic.twitter.com/VmKZEctGOr
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) November 25, 2024
India
