3 key Australian players who were surprisingly poor on Day 1 of the 1st Test vs India
Team India flexed their home might on Day 1 of the first Test against Australia in Nagpur to get their defense of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy off to a promising start.
Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne tried their best with a dogged fourth-wicket partnership before Ravindra Jadeja tore the game wide open with a couple of beauties to dismiss the duo. Alex Carey and Peter Handscomb played contrasting innings to add some weight to Australia's total, but the visitors managed just 177.
India's response was assured. Rohit Sharma struck a confident fifty and remained unbeaten at Stumps, but not before debutant Todd Murphy prised out the home skipper's opening partner KL Rahul. The hosts were 77/1 at the close of the day's play.
Here are three key Australian players who were surprisingly poor on Day 1 of the first Test against India.
#3 Usman Khawaja
Usman Khawaja is on the back of a spectacular calendar year in the Test format. Making an unexpected comeback to the side, the batter amassed 1,080 runs at an average of 67.5, with five fifties and four hundreds, in 2022. He started 2023 superbly as well, hammering an unbeaten 195 against South Africa.
So expectations are high for Khawaja in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He didn't meet those expectations, however, in the opening session of the first Test. The left-hander lasted just three balls, with Mohammed Siraj sending down an inswinger that appeared to be heading down leg but managed to find three reds on the review.
Khawaja's early dismissal set the tone for the Aussie innings. David Warner was castled an over later, and the visitors were on the backfoot immediately. Australia's opening duo should've at least been able to survive until they met their biggest threat, Ravichandran Ashwin.
#2 Matt Renshaw
Picked ahead of Travis Head, Matt Renshaw needed to come up with a notable performance on Day 1 of the first Test. Head has had an excellent couple of years in the Test format and seemed to be one of Australia's frontline batters before being dropped.
Renshaw has toured India before and is definitely a better player of spin than his fellow southpaw, but that didn't seem to account for much. He played all around his front pad to a regulation delivery from Ravindra Jadeja to be adjudged LBW off his very first ball. The left-hander's dismissal left Australia at 84/4, unable to counter-attack following Labuschagne's wicket on the previous ball.
The manner in which Renshaw was dismissed made Australia's decision seem foolish. He had a big role to play but was almost amateur in the way he tried to counter Jadeja.
#1 Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins has talked up how much a Test series win would mean to him, both as a player and skipper. After Day 1 of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, it's safe to say that he didn't live up to expectations in either department.
Walking in at No. 8, Cummins always needed to attack. It was clear that he wouldn't last long if he adopted a defensive approach, but that's exactly what he did. The Aussie captain nicked off to first slip for six runs, following which the last three wickets fell for just five runs.
Cummins then had an absolute nightmare with the ball. He conceded three boundaries in the first over of the Indian innings and never recovered from there, with his four overs costing 27 runs. The fast bowler never hit the right areas and his failure to stem the runs ended up affecting the spinners too.