Beginning the day marginally ahead in a fascinating pink-ball Test, India succumbed to Australia's seamers in extraordinary fashion
A day that began with India and Australia seemingly neck and neck came to an abrupt end after one of the most remarkable sessions of Test cricket in recent times.
India, beginning the day with a lead of 62 and just a single wicket down, were steamrolled for just 36 – the joint-fifth lowest total of all time and the lowest for 65 years, when New Zealand were bowled out by England for just 26.
It surpassed India’s own nadir, which came in 1974 at Lord’s, where Ireland were also dismissed for just 38 last year, and was the joint-lowest Test score in Australia.
The entire innings only lasted 128 deliveries – just 19 times in Test cricket has a team been bowled out in quicker time.
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Mayank Agarwal top-scored with nine, but no Indian player made double-figures – only the second time that has happened in a Test innings, and the first time in 96 years. There were ducks for Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane.
After Rahane’s mix-up with Virat Kohli in the first innings, which led to the run out of the Indian captain, the tourists lost 17 wickets for just 92 runs.
More positively, it was a day of landmarks for Australia’s feted bowling attack. For one, Josh Hazlewood went to 200 Test wickets amid the carnage, while Pat Cummins bowled unchanged from his end, taking 4 for 21 in 10.2 overs. Nathan Lyon, who came into the game 10 scalps short of 400 in Tests, wasn’t required to bowl a ball in the second innings.
And then with the bat, Joe Burns reached his seventh Test half century – his highest score in any cricket since making 93 in March for Queensland against Western Australia.
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Posted by David Rimmer on 02/01/2021 at 23:37
It was an astonishing collapse but there was some top bowling. A few of the balls were just too good and I do not care what all the social media warriors think, even a good team would have struggled to get to 120 or 130 against that Australian attack bowling the way it did. It was to India's cricket they bounced back so well in the next Test and without Kohli too. The run out of Kohli in the first innings and the knock by Tim Paine were the other vital points in this game.
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