Starc takes six as India all out for 180 in Adelaide pink-ball Test

Australia`s Mitchell Starc (C) celebrates the first ball dismissal of India`s Yashasvi Jaiswal with teammates (Pic: AFP)

Irrepressible Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc laid siege to India's batting Friday with the visitors crumbling under the onslaught to be all out for 180 on day one of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide.

After captain Rohit Sharma won the toss on an overcast day, the visitors were dismissed on the cusp of tea. The menacing Starc, who gave Australia a dream start by removing Yashasvi Jaiswal with the first ball of the match, took 6-48. Scott Boland and Pat Cummins both grabbed two each. Six wickets went down in the second session, including Rohit for three and the flamboyant Rishabh Pant for 21.

Pant should have gone for five, but Nathan McSweeney spilled a sharp chance in the gully after the dangerous Boland, in the side for the injured Josh Hazlewood, drew an edge. But the 35-year-old seamer got his reward four balls later, beating Rohit's bat to trap him lbw. A big innings was needed from Pant, but he was unable to deliver with a vicious climbing ball from Cummins bouncing off the shoulder of his bat and into the hands of Marnus Labuschagne.

Starc was brought back for another spell and was hostile once again, taking care of Ravichandran Ashwin (22) and Harshit Rana (0) in the space of four balls. With India in trouble, Nitish Kumar Reddy decided to take charge, clobbering two big sixes in one Boland over to reach his highest Test score of 42 before he and Jasprit Bumrah fell to Starc and Cummins respectively. India came into the clash riding high after a 295-run victory at the first Test in Perth, but Australia have a formidable record in Adelaide, winning all seven pink-ball Tests they have played at the venue.

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The visitors chose to retain Jaiswal and KL Rahul as openers in preference to Rohit, who missed the first Test on paternity leave and came in at six. But the plan backfired as Starc sensationally trapped Jaiswal lbw from a swinging first ball, with the left-armer's pumped-up celebration showing how much it meant. Jaiswal scored 161 in his last innings. The returning Shubman Gill, who was absent from Perth with a thumb injury, then stroked two boundaries in an eventful first over.

But the runs dried up and Rahul was at the crease for 40 minutes without scoring when he was given out, caught behind off Boland. Rahul was walking off, but a no-ball was called and he survived. Five balls later and he had another life, dropped by Usman Khawaja at slip. Undeterred, the pair battled on, before Starc wove his magic again to remove Rahul for 37 with McSweeney holding a catch low at gully.

Virat Kohli roared back to form in Perth with an unbeaten second-innings century but he was no match for Starc this time, out for seven when Steve Smith collected a catch in the slips. Gill was impressive in weathering the storm, but his luck ran out just before the first break when he fell lbw on 31 to the relentless Boland.

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