Mitchell Starc finally got his revenge as he dismissed India’s opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal on the very first ball of the Adelaide Test. The battle between Starc and Jaiswal got pretty intense during the first Test in Perth with the Indian left-hander taunting the left-arm seamer, saying he was bowling “too slow.” However, Starc finally got the upper hand as he got the ball to swing back in on the very first delivery of the pink-ball Test.
Jaiswal, as a result, was sent back to the hut without troubling the scores, and India lost a wicket on the opening delivery of the Test. Speaking to ABC Sport after stumps on Day 1, the experienced Australian pacer said that it was a “nice way” to start the game.
“Nice way to start the game. Get one on target and away we go,” said Starc.
Mitchell Starc eventually took six wickets and he registered the best bowling figures of his career. His effort helped Australia bundle out India for 180 in the first innings.
The pacer dismissed the likes of Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshit Rana, and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
“I just think it was a good day all around. I think I’ve said it before. I think we were probably a fraction wide in the first hour, which they climbed into a bit. And probably got a few away that we weren’t too happy about,” said Starc.
“But I think after that first hour, we were pretty bang on with the ball. And then to bowl them out in the way that we did was, was a good start and I think, you know in testing times, with the sort of, under lights with the new pink ball and with a good attack, I think our top three were fantastic tonight,” he added.
Australia firmly on top
At Stumps on Day 1, Australia reached the score of 86/1, still trailing by 94 runs. Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne are at the crease for the hosts.
Nathan McSweeney is unbeaten on 38 runs while Marnus Labuschagne is batting on 20. The right-handed Marnus has been battling severe criticism for his performances for last year in the longest format.
Defending Marnus, Starc said, “Yeah, he (Marnus) has hit 1000 balls. I think he has had it. It sounds like he’s had a hit every day since the Perth Test. So no, fantastic for the boys, I think certainly a lot of outside noise, but for them to fight the way they did in the last session.”
“Arguably the toughest session of pink-ball cricket is that last session with you know quality bowling attack with the new pink ball. So fantastic to see and hopefully they can go on tomorrow,” he added.
Australia has a phenomenal record in pink-ball Tests and the hosts would hope to cash in on Day 2 of the Adelaide match against India.
