Ravi Shastri takes savage dig at Australian commentator over pre-match remarks on pitch

The first Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia commenced on Thursday at Nagpur's Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium (VCA). India put on a dominating performance on Day 1 of the game to gain an advantage over the visiting side. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin turned up with the ball to help India restrict the Aussies to just 177 runs. 

In the second innings of the match, when the Australians came in to bowl, stats on TV showed that their spinners were achieving more degrees of turn than their Indian counterparts. Looking at the stats, Australian commentator Matthew Hayden tried to troll India but Ravi Shastri hit back by pointing out that the Australians' wicket column was still empty. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were set on the pitch by then and had scored 62 runs between them. 

Here's how the conversation between Shastri and Hayden went down

Matthew Hayden: Look at that. That's the Aussies winning the day with spin. Degree of turn.

Ravi Shastri: I can't read that Haydos. I see that the wickets column which is still zero.

Ravi Shastri trolling the mighty Aussies and the oldies who barked about the pitch last evening 😂 #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/eGsxcYSEYF

— ಹೃಷಿಕೇಶ್ ಶೆಟ್ಟಿ ✨ (@hrishikesh__j27) February 9, 2023

India vs Australia, 1st Test: Day 1

On the first day of the 1st Test match between India and Australia in Nagpur, the visitors won the toss and elected to bat first. However, their batting performance was underwhelming as they were dismissed for just 177 runs. India's Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin played a key role in the dismissal, with Jadeja taking five wickets and Ashwin claiming three.

Australia's opening batsmen, David Warner and Usman Khawaja, were quickly removed by Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, giving India the upper hand. Despite efforts by Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, who scored 82 runs together, Jadeja took three quick wickets after lunch and helped restrict Australia's score. This was Jadeja's first international match after being sidelined due to an injury sustained during the Asia Cup last year.

Jadeja's impressive performance helped India bring Australia down from 76-2 at lunch to 173-8 after lunch. With Ashwin's assistance, India then managed to bowl out the Kangaroos for just 177 runs. In response, India's openers Rohit and Rahul put on 76 runs for the first wicket before the latter was removed just before the end of the day's play. At stumps on Day 1, India were 77/1, with Rohit slated to resume batting on Day 2 alongside Ashwin.

Image: bcci.tv