Twitter Reactions: Australia end Day 1 on high against India after Mitchell Starc’s bowling heroics in Adelaide

India vs Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Australia and India kicked off the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25) at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, on Friday, December 6. The game began with the visitors coming in to bat first after winning the toss. India saw the return of their skipper Rohit Sharma for the Pink-ball Test along with Shubman Gill and Ravichandran Ashwin.

The hosts got off to a flying start as Mitchell Starc dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal for a golden duck in the first ball of the game. Yashasvi Jaiswal (0 off 1). After that, KL Rahul partnered up with Gill to continue the innings. Both the right-handers displayed some brilliant shots, which got the crowd going. The duo stitched a 69-run stand before Starc came back into the attack and dismissed the well-set Rahul for 37.

Star batter Virat Kohli, who was coming off a ton in the Perth Test couldn’t spend much time on the crease as he was caught off-guard due to the awkward bounce which sent him packing after adding seven to the tally. Gill, on the other hand, was looking to make a huge impact, but was found plumb in from the wicket and had no option but to end his 31-run knock. The batter laced his innings with five boundaries.

Skipper Rohit Sharma who walked in at No. 5, continued his sluggish form as he found himself back in the dressing room after a brief knock of three. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant also had a poor day with the bat as he could manage to score just 21 runs.

From there on, Nitish Kumar Reddy, who is just one Test old played a fabulous knock to take the scoreboard over 100, and smashed a quickfire 42-run knock, hitting three boundaries and three sixes. India were eventually dismissed for 180, with Starc claiming a six-wicket haul, along with Pat Cummins and Scott Boland picking two wickets each.

Indian bowlers started well, especially Jasprit Bumrah who picked up the wicket of Usman Khawaja (13 off 35). The bowlers did keep the pressure going but the duo of Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne played their shots cautiously and didn’t take any risks.

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Both the batters played their shots well and got the side back into the game. By the end of the day’s play, McSweeney and Labuschagne were batting on 38 and 20, with Australia’s score standing at 86/1, trailing by 94 runs. Starc’s six-fer was the highlight of the day as Australia would hope to continue the momentum on Day 2 and put on a heavy first-inning score.

Meanwhile, here’s how the fans reacted to Day 1 of AUS vs IND Second Test: