Australia dominate early as India lose six wickets in Border-Gavaskar opener
PERTH: Australia delivered a dominant performance on Friday, dismantling India’s top order in the opening match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The hosts took control early, reducing India to 97/6 in just 38 overs.
Australia’s bowlers, led by skipper Pat Cummins, were relentless, dismissing six key Indian players within 32 overs. KL Rahul was the top scorer for India so far, contributing 26 runs off 74 balls with three boundaries.
The innings began poorly for India after electing to bat first. Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for a duck in the second over by Mitchell Starc, caught by Nathan McSweeney. Devdutt Padikkal also departed without scoring, falling in the 10th over.
Rahul showed some resistance but was eventually dismissed by Starc. Star batter Virat Kohli managed only five runs before losing his wicket. Among the remaining batsmen, Rishabh Pant has put up some fight with an unbeaten 26, while Nitish Kumar Reddy is holding steady with 11 runs. Earlier, Dhruv Jurel (11) and Washington Sundar (4) also failed to make significant contributions.
India faces an uphill battle as their first innings continues, with six wickets already down and a modest score on the board.
