Published 18:17 IST, February 9th 2023
IND vs AUS: R Ashwin meticulously lays perfect trap for Australia captain Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins was made to toil by the Indian bowlers as the Australian captain could only manage 6 runs in 14 balls before being the victim of the spinner.
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R Ashwin has a number of tricks under his sleeves and the star off-spinner used one of his primary ammunition to have the opponent skipper Pat Cummins caught at first slip during the first innings. The 36-year-old bowled a simple off-spinner which didn't turn at all and Virat Kohli had a simple task to do at first slip as the bowler picked up his second wicket of the day.
R Ashwin trapped Pat Cummins as Virat Kohli took the catch at first slip
Pat Cummins was made to toil by the Indian bowlers as the Australian captain could only manage 6 runs in 14 balls before being the victim of the spinner. Cummins was Ashwin's second wicket of the day as R Ashwin breached the 450 wicket mark as he dismissed Alex Carey just before getting Cummins out.
Classic two-card trick from @ashwinravi99 - you can see why he’s second fastest to 450 Test wickets ##INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/61GBRaoi2V
— simon hughes (@theanalyst) February 9, 2023
Cummins won the toss in the first Test and decided to bat in Nagpur. But the Indian pacers had a very good start removing both the openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja in quick succession. The Indian spinners then took on the Aussie batsmen with some fiery turners as Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin wrapped up the remaining part of the Aussie batting lineup. Jadeja ended the first innings with a spectacular bowling figure of 22-8-47-5 while Ashwin also came in handy as he has three wickets under his belt.
Rohit Sharma looked on song as he brought up his 15th half-century in 63 balls. KL Rahul fell pretty cheaply as he failed to read Todd Murphy's delivery and the 22-year-old debutant picked up his first wicket in the red ball cricket.
India needs to register a convincing performance in a bid to claim their spot in the World Test Championship as they lost the final to New Zealand in the last edition of the inaugural WTC. Australia hasn't managed to win a Test on Indian soil since 20024 and Virat Kohli will not leave any stones unturned to bridge the gap between both teams.
18:18 IST, February 9th 2023