India took a 1-0 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia with a dominating performance in the first Test that saw some class performances from their batters and bowlers.
A five-wicket haul by Ravichandran Ashwin combined with the all-round performance by Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel helped India clinch victory by an innings and 132 runs within three days of the first Test at Nagpur.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah congratulated the team and lauded performances and “great teamwork”.
The visitors were bundled out for 91 runs before the end of the second session on Saturday in the first of four- match series.
Australia were off to a tricky start in the second innings also as their first challenge was to cross the lead of 223 runs given by India.Ravichandran Ashwin started Aussie’s downfall by dismissing Usman Khawaja for just five runs off nine balls. Australia was 7/1.Marnus Labuschagne was the next man on the crease and he continued his good form, slamming three great boundaries. However, Ravindra Jadeja’s golden arm did the trick again and he trapped the world’s number one Test batter lbw for 17 off 28 balls. Australia was 26/2.
Ashwin was breathing fire with the ball. He went on to dismiss David Warner (10) and Matt Renshaw (2) in quick succession. Australia was slowly choking under the pressure built by spinners and sunk to 42/4, with a mountain of runs still left to climb.
A boundary by Smith helped Australia cross 50-run mark in 16.2 overs. Ashwin got his fourth wicket of the match and he sent back Handscomb in the fourth lbw dismissal of the inning. Australia was in a huge spot of bother at 52/5, trailing by 167 runs.Despite trying, there was not stopping Ashwin. Australia’s downward spiral seemed endless and went one step further after Ashwin trapped Alex Carey for 10. Aussies were reduced to 64/6.
Jadeja and Axar joined Ashwin and the trio was running riot on Aussies. Jadeja picked up Cummins (1) while Axar dismissed Todd Murphy (2). Australia was 75/8 and trailed by 148 runs and just two wickets away from an embarrassing third-day defeat.Pacer Mohammed Shami made pace bowling’s first entry in the wicket-taking charts for the inning. He dismantled Nathan Lyon’s stumps for 8 runs. Australia was left struggling at 88/9, trailing by 135 runs. The Aussies were just one wicket away from a loss.
Shami hit Australia with one final blow, dismissing Scott Boland for a duck. Australia was all out for just 91 runs in 32.3 overs. They lost the match by innings and 132 runs. Smith was left stranded at 25 runs. Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers for hosts, taking 5/37 in 12 overs. Jadeja also took 2/34 while Shami got figures of 2/13. Axar also took a wicket for six runs in three overs.“We were prepared for hard days of bowling, spent session after session. I did not expect they would be bowled out in one session. As you saw, the pitch became slower and slower and there was no bounce on the pitch, so it was a bit of a surprise for me,” said Rohit Sharma in the post-match press conference.
A brilliant 84-run knock by all-rounder Axar Patel and an entertaining cameo by Mohammed Shami put India in a commanding position, with a lead of 223 runs at lunch on day three of the first Test against Australia at Nagpur on Saturday.
India started the day at 321/7, with Ravindra Jadeja (66) and Axar Patel (52) at the crease.
India register innings win over Australia in Nagpur Test, take 1-0 lead
