Live: Australia vs India at Perth Stadium
3rd over – Devdutt Padikkal is at the crease for his second Test
STARC STRIKES! And the rookie takes the catch!!
Yashasvi Jaiswal is keen to get on with it, but he’s never done it on Australian pitches and this ball’s gotten big on him, far from a drivable length.
He gets a big fat edge and the ball flies out to Nathan McSweeney at gully, where he pouches a regulation but sharp chance. That’s a good grab considering the nerves he’d be feeling.
Jaiswal is out for a duck, Starc has his trademark early scalp, and McSweeney is straight into the action.
2nd over – Josh Hazlewood steams in for his first offering
And straight away he gets big movement off the seam back into the hip of KL Rahul.
Play and miss! Eight months after his last Test, Hazlewood is just immediately on the money.
Bit of everything from Starc, and a tight maiden from Hazlewood. Test cricket is back, baby.
Mitchell Starc has the ball in hand to kick us off
KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal are in to bat for India. A real mix of experience and youthful excellence.
FOUR BYES! The first ball of the summer is always eventful, but this time it’s for the wrong reason, speared down leg and to the rope.
Not an ounce of the swing I assume Mitchell Starc was expecting, but even less lateral movement from Alex Carey behind the stumps.
And then he finds the edge of Jaiswal, but soft hands guides the ball down into the ground in front of the slips cordon. Speaking of the cordon, it goes Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith then Marnus Labuschagne.
Interestingly, Mitch Marsh is at a wide mid-on, rather than his usual gully spot. Must be a plan to bowl straighter to Jaiswal.
And the first no ball of the game as Starc oversteps. Sundries is running away as the top-scorer so far today.
Starc ends a mixed over with a nice bit of out-swing that squares up the leftie Jaiswal. A bit of everything in that one.
The teams are on the field!
Noongar elder Dr Richard Walley is delivering the Welcome to Country (which, just as a reminder to those of you who feel like getting het up about it, is a welcome to this part of the country, not a welcome to the country of Australia).
The anthems are in the books and we’re all set for play to start.
‘Favourite’ can mean many things
Hard to call it a favourite but by far my most memorable Aus vs Ind moment was Dravid and Laxman batting India into coming back from following on in 2001. I was only a little lw and waiting all day for my heroes to finish another easy win. I grew up a lot that week…
– LW
As we ask for your “favourite” moments in Australia and India’s Test history, what we’re really asking for is the “most memorable”.
So, LW, feel free to vote for it without being accused of treason.
Harsha Bhogle chimes in on Indian selection from ABC comm box
Washington Sundar scored 84 vital runs in his debut in India’s famous victory at the Gabba in 2021 and took four wickets.
The voice of Indian cricket, Harsha Bhogle, has had his say on the selectors’ call, picking him as the only spinner…
Bhogle will be part of the ABC Sport radio coverage this summer. Here’s the rest of the star-studded line-up …
India wins the toss, Australia will bowl first
Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah didn’t have any hesitation saying India would bat first after winning the toss …
“We know what to expect, the wicket gets quicker after the first session. We’re pretty confident.”
Aussie skipper Pat Cummins comes in with his usual laconic style …
“We’re pretty 50/50. Good wicket here — sun’s out, either way we’re pretty happy.
“Feel fresh ready to go.
“The wickets out the back have been nice and bouncy. So hopefully a bit of pace and bounce this week.”
Here are the teams confirmed:
Australia: Nathan McSweeney (debut), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy (debut), Jasprit Bumrah (c), Harshit Rana (debut), Mohammed Siraj
So that’s a four-pronged pace attack for India — Reddy, Bumrah, Rana and Siraj — with Washington Sundar as the only spinner.
Former Australia Test player Tom Moody has concerns over the decision to leave out Test stars Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Debutants on both sides
Plenty has been said and written about Nathan McSweeney joining the Australian Test line-up as its latest opener.
And the final word goes to his impending partner at the top of the order, Usman Khawaja: “If you can score runs in Shield cricket, he can definitely score runs in Test cricket.”
The rest of the Aussie XI is pretty settled and has been for the past few years, but India is in a bit of flux.
Seamer Mohammed Shami has an ankle injury, and captain Rohit Sharma (personal reasons) is unavailable.
Shubman Gill (broken thumb) may also be out of action at the top of the order.
Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is captaining the tourists, while all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and seamer Harshit Rana have both been presented with their caps before play today.
We’ll have confirmation of both XIs at the toss, which is a few minutes away.
Your favourite moments from Australia and India
Before we get to this year’s gear, it’s time to look back. Back over decades of history between these two great cricketing nations.
We’ve compiled a list of 40 moments and you have a chance to pick your favourite five.
We’ll reveal the top moments before the final test at the SCG on January 3.
So get your votes in now!
It’s officially cricket season!
Sheffield Shield, Big Bash, ODIs, T20s … that’s all well and good, but it’s not officially cricket season until the first Test of the summer (read: spring).
That goes triple when India is in town.
The teams are in Perth for the first of their five-Test series and we’re all in position to bring you every ball of a big season.
I’m Jon Healy and I’ll be joined by Simon Smale on the blog, with Dean Bilton, Chris De Silva and the rest of the ABC Sport team ready and raring for a shining summer.
Let’s get to it!
