AUSTRALIA FALLS JUST SHORT AS NEW ERA BEGINS

December 10, 2018

Australia has come agonizingly close to securing a dramatic win against India in the first test in Adelaide.  They fell 31 runs short after Josh Hazelwood was caught out.  Hazelwood and Nathan Lyon had produced a stoic last wicket partnership of 32 after the top and middle order again mostly failed to fire.

India won the toss and elected to bat.  They were in trouble at 3/19, but a measured 123 from Cheteshwar Pujara helped India to a total of 250.  Josh Hazelwood took three wickets, and Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc each took two.

Australia’s first innings began poorly when Aaron Finch was dismissed for a duck on the third ball.  Debutant opener Marcus Harris made 26, Usman Khawaja scored 28, and Peter Handscomb made 34 on his return to the test team.  Travis Head top scored with 72 as Australia finished all out for 235.  Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin each took three wickets for the visitors.

India made a solid 307 in their second innings, led by 71 from Cheteshwar Pujara and 70 from Ajinkya Rahane.  The total could have been out of reach for Australia, but India lost their last four wickets for just four runs.  Nathan Lyon finished with figures of 6/122, while Mitchell Starc added another three to his tally.

Aaron Finch again struggled, and was lucky not to be out for another duck.  He went on to make 11, before being out in a dubious decision which may have been overturned had it gone to review.  Marcus Harris made another 26, and Shaun March returned to some form, making 60.  Those around March fell away, leaving Tim Paine and the bowlers to try to rescue the match.  Paine made 41 in a dour captain’s knock, and Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc each made 28.  Nathan Lyon was unbeaten on 38 when Hazelwood was dismissed to give India an exciting victory.

While the technique and shot selections may have lacked polish, the test match was always exciting as the new era Australians were more than a match for the number one ranked team in the world.  Hopefully this is an indicator of what is to come as Australia attempts to regain the trust and support of their fans.

You can read more about Australia’s test cricketers here.