Starc, Hazlewood dent India on the first morning in Perth
India was rattled by Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood's two wickets apiece on the opening morning of the Perth Test, as the visitors reached lunch at 51 for 4. Although Virat Kohli collected five wickets and Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal were sent for a duck each, the most significant dismissal of the session came from Starc, who removed a resolute KL Rahul in a highly controversial dismissal.
Although Australia lost the toss for the first time in five Test matches at the Optus Stadium, Pat Cummins said that he was not entirely sure what to do. The top order faltered early on, but Jasprit Bumrah did not think twice about batting first.
Rahul did well to play within the line of the ball against an extremely accurate Hazlewood who was also getting the ball seam abundantly. Rahul was starting in Tests once more without Rohit Sharma. However, Starc tricked Jaiswal into trying to drive away from his body, and he nicked to Nathan McSweeney for an eight-ball duck at Gully. After being brought into the main squad and substituted for the injured Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal was cautious at first because of his hesitant footwork. He edged a ball from Hazlewood that appeared to have seamed 1.39 degrees after pitching, which was the second-highest for the pacer in the session, following a prolonged stretch of survival.
To great acclaim, Virat Kohli came out, but the additional bounce undid him after only 12 balls. Kohli was caught off guard when Hazlewood moved his length back a bit and got one to rise on him. Nevertheless, he resisted it and lost to Usman Khawaja at first slip, bringing India down to 32 for 3. As the practice went on, Rahul gradually gained confidence and kept his bat under check while defending. However, the third umpire's decision to reverse an on-field call for a caught-behind appeal sent him packing, leaving him furious.
As the ball brushed the outside edge, he once again got his vertical bat near to his body against a delivery that was slanted across from Starc. The home side appealed and was reviewed. The snicko spiked immediately after the ball crossed the bat's outside edge, according to replays. Rahul struck his bat onto his front pad at the same moment the ball passed the bat, but the third umpire decided in Australia's favor because of the spike he saw. With a shake of his head, Rahul left.
When Nathan Lyon was added in the final fifteen minutes of the session, Rishabh Pant maintained his composure. Dhruv Jurel led India to the interval unscathed after surviving a play-and-a-miss and a sliced shot over the crowded cordon behind the stumps from Starc.
Short scores: India 51/4 against Australia (KL Rahul 26; Josh Hazlewood 2-10, Mitchell Starc 2-10)