"Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin challenge you in different ways" - Peter Handscomb on batting against India's spin twins in Nagpur

Australia's middle-order batter Peter Handscomb admitted that it wasn't easy batting at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on Day 1 of the first Test against India on Thursday, February 9. The 31-year-old heaped praise on India's bowling attack, stating that they hardly gave the Aussie batters any scoring opportunities.

Australia struggled to put on a big score on the first day of the opening Test in Nagpur after batting first, folding for 177 after Ravindra Jadeja's fifer. The two most significant partnerships were 82 between Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne and 53 between Peter Handscomb and Alex Carey.

However, both combinations failed to build on their starts.

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When asked whether Todd Murphy and Nathan Lyon can challenge the Indian batters, the Victorian backed them to put the advantage on Australia's side.

He said, as quoted by cricket.com.au:

"They both spin it the same way but they do it differently, similar to how Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin challenge you in different ways. Gazza and Murph will do that as well. They have separate plans, it's not just going to be the same bowling from each end with the same fields, they'll chop their change over and around as well.

"They'll stick to their plans, they won't try to bowl like each other. Hopefully, that difference is enough."

India ended the day on 77-1, with Rohit Sharma remaining unbeaten on 56 and combining with KL Rahul to add 76 for the opening wicket. Debutant off-spinner Todd Murphy struck late in the day, plucking a return catch from Rahul for 20.

"Once a wicket fell, it was tough to start again" - Peter Handscomb

Handscomb, who scored a gritty 31 before falling to Jadeja, predicts that batting will only become difficult as the game progresses. The right-handed batter hopes Australia can take advantage of the tricky batting conditions and take a few wickets, adding:

"It’s tough out there. Jadeja was obviously bowling very well, not really giving our batsmen a lot to hit and I found him tough to score against. It definitely wasn’t easy out there. The Indian team bowl really well as a unit and didn’t give us much to score off.

"Once a wicket fell, it was tough to start again. It gives us a lot of confidence tomorrow that if we can get on a roll we can take a clump of wickets and get the game going in fast forward."

Todd Murphy's debut wicket was a late consolation on day one of the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

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Australia have no choice but to pluck out a few wickets to stay in the contest. A win or draw in the four-Test series will ensure they secure a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.