CHENNAI: At approximately 12.35 pm IST on Friday, when Usman Khawaja ran back to catch Nitish K Reddy out for 41 in The Perth Stadium, every Indian fan — whether they were watching from the stands or glued to television/mobile screens — would have let out a sigh of frustration.
Every possible nightmare scenario they would have imagined before going to sleep on the eve of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy had come true. India, led by stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah, opted to bat first on a pitch with ample grass cover and had been bowled out for 150 in less than 50 overs (49.4) on day one of the first Test in Perth.
As many as seven batters had gotten out in single digits, including three ducks. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s expected struggles came to light. Virat Kohli’s forward stride caught him off-guard as the veteran was bounced out by Josh Hazlewood. Devdutt Padikkal went into a shell, getting out for a 23-ball duck. And of course, in a typical Australian way, nine of the ten wickets, except Reddy, came off catches in the cordon. So much so that, if not for a brief rescue from Rishabh Pant (37) and debutant Reddy, they would have ended with another double digit total.
As Reddy took the long walk back, many questions lingered. Did India make the right choice by picking Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana ahead of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Akash Deep? Was the decision to bat first wrong? Was this going to be the beginning of a long troublesome summer Down Under? The biggest of all, however, was what happens after Bumrah finishes his spell.
In less than an hour, the captain, and the best all-format bowler in the world, shattered all the doubts, lifting the spirits of millions of Indian fans.
All it took was four balls for Bumrah to set the tone. Running in from over the wicket, the pacer angled in a length delivery towards debutant Nathan McSweeney which seamed away past the outside edge. Two deliveries later, the ball drifted down the leg and McSweeney tucked it away for four. Bumrah, one over six runs, zero wicket.
