Perth (Australia): Australia's pace duo of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood scripted history, becoming the first Australian new-ball pair to claim 400 Test wickets during Day 1 of the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against India at Optus Stadium here on Friday, November 22, 2024.
The veteran pacers ripped apart the Indian batting lineup, taking a few early wickets with Starc removing Yashasvi Jaiswal for a duck, followed up by Hazlewood with Devdutt Padikkal's wickets for a 23-ball duck, leaving India at 14/2.
Starc, who received his Test cap in 2011, now has a staggering 358 Test wickets at an average of 27.74. He ranks as Australia’s fourth-highest wicket-taker in Tests and is second only to Glenn McGrath among pacers. Hazlewood, who began his Test journey in 2014, has taken 273 wickets in 70 Tests at an average of 24.82. Together, the pair have featured in 54 Tests, forming a formidable trio with skipper Pat Cummins, and play a vital role in Australia's success.
Coming to the match, Captain Jasprit Bumrah's inexplicable decision to opt for batting on a bouncy green top can be debated in times to come. Debutant Nitish Reddy's gutsy 41 and Rishabh Pant's brief daredevilry proved to be a fleeting silver lining in an otherwise batting no-show by India as they were shot out for a lowly 150 at tea against a disciplined Australia on the opening day of the first Test.
While KL Rahul (26 off 74 balls) was ready to grind it out before getting a contentious caught behind the decision, young guns like Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) and Devdutt Padikkal (0) looked completely out of place during a brilliant opening spell bowled in tandem by Starc and Hazlewood. Virat Kohli (5) looked like a pale shadow of the player, who visited these shores in 2011-12, 2014-15 and 2018-19 as he was done in by a short ball from Hazlewood.
Dhruv Jurel and Washington Sundar were all-rounder Mitchell Marsh's (2/12 in 5 overs) prize wickets after the specialist pacers created relentless pressure.
