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IND vs AUS: Smith, Labuschagne frustrate India with impeccable resistance


image-ldworkeyMarnus Labuschagne's grit stole the show [Source: AP]

A Test series between India and Australia always begins on a controversial note. It was no different this time either, as a lot of buzz around the Nagpur pitch took centre stage as soon as the visitors landed on the Indian shores. 

However, once the encounter began, the focus shifted entirely to the sheer quality of cricket displayed by players from both sides, who ensured the jam-packed Nagpur crowd had a gripping session of Test cricket to witness in front of their eyes. 


How the battle panned out? 

image-ldwp3w13Mohammed Siraj struck in his very first over [Source: Twitter]

After winning the toss, Australia made the obvious call of batting first on the dryish Nagpur surface. 

While India adopted a 'horses for courses' approach, handing debuts to Suryakumar Yadav and KS Bharat, Australia picked an all-finger-spinner attack by unleashing the promising Victorian Todd Murphy. 

If you remember, the Australian media had accused the Nagpur curator of 'selective doctoring' of the pitch, anticipating it to behave as a dreaded minefield for their left-handers. 

However, interestingly, the Indian new ball pair of Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj eased it a little bit for David Warner and Usman Khawaja by dismissing them before they could even face the Indian spin trio. 

But, as they say, the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of adversity. 

This is precisely what Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne proved in the first session, making friendship with an unfamiliar Nagpur surface by getting on top of its devious tricks. 

As a result, the Indian bowlers, despite toiling hard in the middle, only received the unwanted reward of 'no run' shouts from both ends in the remainder of the session. 

Although skipper Rohit Sharma rotated his bowlers wisely, the most reliable Australian pair had the answer to everything - Shami and Siraj's movement, Jadeja's wily variations and Axar Patel's much-hyped arm ball. 


Talking points

image-ldwowkpbSteve Smith was dropped on 6 by Virat Kohli [Source: Twitter]

  • Virat Kohli dropped Steve Smith off Axar Patel when the batter was on six. Although it was a tough chance, dropping a talisman like Smith could prove fatal for the hosts. 
  • Ravichandran Ashwin was introduced a bit too late in the twenty-second over. As we have seen, the legendary spinner loves bamboozling the opponent batters with the hard new ball, using the slider to perfection. So, we reckon he could've started ahead of Jadeja or Axar when the ball was relatively harder. Probably, India considered it appropriate to play safe by preferring their left-arm off-spinners against the right-handers. 


Expectations in the next session

With Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne glued to the pitch, it will be an uphill task for the Indian bowlers to break this stand. 

However, if the hosts somehow manage to dismiss one of them, we see them sitting in the driving seat at the end of the second session. 


Brief Scores

Australia: 76/2 (32)
Marnus Labuschagne 47* (110), Steve Smith 19* (74);
Mohammed Shami 1/12 (5), Mohammed Siraj 1/13 (5)