Mumbai boy Yashasvi slams dominant 161 in his first Test Down Under, while Virat Kohli returns to form with unbeaten 100 as India declare at 487-6 to set Oz improbable 534-run target; hosts end Day Three reeling at 12-3
India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal celebrates his century during Day Three of the first Test against Australia at Perth Stadium yesterday. Pic/PTI
Virat Kohli knows a thing or two about making Test hundreds in Australia. After all, before Sunday, he had six of them to his credit.
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Yashasvi Jaiswal knows a thing or two about making daddy hundreds. Before Day Three of the first Test against Australia, each of his three-figure knocks in Test cricket had topped 150.
Kohli added a record seventh hundred in Australia — the joint most by an Indian in an overseas land, alongside Sunil Gavaskar’s seven in the Caribbean — after Jaiswal had breezed to 161, comprehensively dashing Australia’s hopes of a miracle to stay in touch in the first Test.
As a result, India were able to declare their second innings on 487 for six late on Sunday at the Optus Stadium, setting the hosts an impossible 534 runs to grab a miraculous 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Jasprit Bumrah killed off any possible artificial excitement by trapping debutant Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne leg before either side of Mohammed Siraj’s dismissal of nightwatchman Pat Cummins, leaving Australia reeling at 12 for three at the end of one of their worst days in Test cricket in recent memory.
Few would have foreseen this turn of events when India were shot out for 150 in their first innings on Friday, which seemed an extension of their 0-3 defeat to New Zealand at home. But once Bumrah’s brilliance had given them a 46-run advantage, the batters knuckled down in slightly improved batting conditions to grind Australia to the dust.
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The left-handed Jaiswal and KL Rahul took their opening association to 201, becoming the first Indian opening pair to add 200 in an innings in Australia, and even though Rahul didn’t kick on to three figures, he had done the job on his return to the Test XI. Jaiswal had done all the hard work on Saturday and he cashed in on the moving day, ensuring that his first four hundreds in Tests were all 150-plus scores (he has only Graeme Smith for company in that club) before cracking Mitch Marsh to the point fielder.
Kohli looked imperious from the get-go, announcing his intentions with a gorgeous on-drive off Cummins that thudded into the long-on fence even before the Australian captain had completed his follow through. Assured in defence and committed when he came forward in attack, his slight adjustment in standing not too far outside the crease to the faster bowlers worked wonders. He was able to negotiate the uneven bounce with reasonable comfort and when the ball was in his arc, he put it away with the authority that has been his calling card for so many years now.
With India primed for a declaration, Kohli took only 49 deliveries for his second fifty, getting to century No. 30 with a swept four off Nathan Lyon. It was a superb hundred even in isolation but in the context of the series, its long-term value will become more apparent with time.
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In the short passage of play to stumps, Bumrah and Siraj made sure that now, surely, it’s a matter of when, not whether.
4
No. of times Jaiswal has crossed 150 in his four century knocks in Tests
Brief scores
India 150 & 487-6d (Y Jaiswal 161, V Kohli 100*, KL Rahul 77, NK Reddy 38*; N Lyon 2-96) v Australia 104 & 12-3 (U Khawaja 3*; J Bumrah 2-1)
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