The ball seamed in just a little and hit the top of the off-stump to rattle the stumps.
Jasprit Bumrah dismissed India’s nemesis Travis Head on a duck with a beautiful delivery, and it was perfect planning from Rohit Sharma as a captain. He set an attacking field to put the new batter under pressure, and the move worked superbly.
Bumrah bowled a length delivery on the off-stump line, to which Head decided to shoulder arms, assuming it would go past the stumps. However, the ball seamed in just a little and hit the top of the off-stump to rattle the stumps.
It is one of Head’s major weaknesses, for he doesn’t move his feet much and tries playing with his hands mainly, which could result in him getting stuck. India haven’t exploited it enough in the ongoing series, but Bumrah was right on cue this time and didn’t allow Head to become dangerous and dismissed him on a duck.
Rohit should also be credited for setting the right field placement and putting some doubts in Head’s mind, something he failed to do in the previous matches. India would be relieved to put their biggest problem aside, but they still have a huge task ahead of them.
At one stage, Australia were looking good with the top three – Sam Konstas (60), Usman Khawaja (57), and Marnus Labuschagne (72) – scoring crucial fifties. However, India bounced back and made a mini-comeback in the final session of the first day.
Firstly, Washington Sundar dismissed Labuschagne against the run of play due to a loose shot by the batter. Then, Jasprit Bumrah came and weaved his magic with the ball again by taking two quick wickets.
Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh lost wickets in quick succession as India got some respite after a poor start to the Test. However, Australia still have some batting left, and Steve Smith and Alex Carey have started the rebuilding work for the team.
India need to take these remaining wickets as quickly as possible because Australia have already made a good score. If these two keep going, India will soon find themselves out of the game.
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