New Delhi: India and Australia played an absolute blockbuster on the opening day of the Perth test. While the ‘snake cracks’ on the pitch ensured that a whopping 17 wickets fell on Day 1, there were many incidents as well which kept the crowd entertained who had turned up in large numbers.
Tension was flaring up between Mohammed Siraj and Marnus Labuschagne as both cricketers were embroiled in a heated exchange of words in the middle.
A heated moment between DSP Siraj and Marnus Labuschagne. pic.twitter.com/kIjOBQtSXe
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 22, 2024
When did the incident occur?
The incident happened after the 4th ball of the 13th over of Australia’s innings in the post-Tea session. Tempers flared between the two as Siraj bowled a short of a length delivery which nipped back and hit Labuschagne on the top of his pad. Since Labuschagne was out of his crease and the ball was close to the stumps, Siraj reacted and ran towards the striker’s end to pick the ball.
DSP Siraj arrested Labuschagne for his criminally TukTuk Innings💀 pic.twitter.com/zkgbAIlJHJ
— Dinda Academy (@academy_dinda) November 22, 2024
However, Labuschagne moved the ball away with his bat, which left Siraj a bit frustrated. This led to a war of words between the two. Virat Kohli also seemed upset with Labuschagne and took off the bails, which led to crowd cheers from the crowd.
Pacers spew their venom on a juicy Perth Wicket!
On a green and juicy wicket of the Optus stadium in Perth, the Indian pace lineup ran riot as the batsmen of both teams found it difficult to sustain the heat of swing and bounce of a green top wicket at Perth. The leader of the pack was stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah who was the pick of the bowlers for his scintillating 5-wicket haul. Bumrah ended the 1st innings with 5/30 from his 18-over quota.
Mohammed Siraj shines on Day 1
Labuschagne was Siraj’s second strike of the day. His first wicket was of Mitchell Marsh, as the Australian all-rounder edged to KL Rahul at third slip. Siraj finished the Day with figures of 2/17 as he, captain Jasprit Bumrah and fellow pacer Harshit Rana combined to put India on the box seat by having Australia reeling at 67/7 at stumps. If the Aussie bowlers – Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh, Pat Cummins and Marsh – dominated the first two sessions to bowl India out for 150, the final two hours of the game belonged to Bumrah’s pacers.
DSP Siraj ki giraft me mujrim pic.twitter.com/vwOfAheDZd
— Out Of Context Cricket (@GemsOfCricket) November 22, 2024
India went into the match with four pacers – all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is yet to bowl in this innings – a decision Bumrah faced flak for. Including four fast bowlers meant India had to drop the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja from the Playing XI and play a lone spinner in Washington Sundar, who can also add value with the bat. But as the game progressed, Bumrah’s ploy became more evident. Nitish emerged as the top-scorer for India with 41, and Rana picked up the all-important wicket of Travis Head to get off the mark in Test cricket.