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- Published: November 25, 2024 18:41
New Delhi: India won a thumping victory in Perth to silence the crowd who had come with high hopes to dominate the contest. Pat Cummins, the Australian captain had a knack for delivering knockout punches to India on the grandest stages.
However, the Aussie skipper tasted his own medicine in an epic bowling thriller scripted by the Indian skipper Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah’s India hammered the Australians at their Optus fortress, handing them their first-ever defeat at the venue with a 295-run win in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy!
After setting a mammoth 534-run target, India bowled Australia out for 238 to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. While the win is something that the entire team celebrated, fans were hooked onto the ‘battle of words’ which is more famously known as the ‘SLEDGE HAMMER!’
The famous Australian “SLEDGE HAMMER!”
Here are some of the spicy incidents which were a part of the Perth Test:
Bowling Masterclass by Bumrah and Siraj!
Skipper Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj cooked a hearty meal of “Kangaroo Curry” as they bamboozled the Australian batsmen with their swinging kookaburra. The pacers were supported by Washington Sundar and Nitish Reddy who claimed 1 wicket apiece.
Starting the day at 12 for 3, chasing 534, it seemed only a matter of time before Australia would capitulate, and they eventually did, despite a spirited 89 from Travis Head that only delayed the inevitable.
Interestingly, this was the first tour where the Aussies threw the Indian batting lineup in a tricky surface which is the bounciest pitch in the country. The move worked initially, but only for a session and a half before it backfired.
While Australia had hoped to exploit India’s vulnerabilities, they also gambled on their underperforming batting lineup. Key players like Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have struggled with form for some time, and the decision to bring in rookie Nathan McSweeney, who is untested and not an opener, highlighted Australia’s transition phase—one that could prove even more challenging than India’s.
