Hard work undone: India lose 3/12 to squander early advantage in Adelaide

As Mitchell Starc trapped Yashasvi Jaiswal right in front on the very first ball of the match, Australia could not have hoped for a better start to the second Test at the Adelaide Oval on December 6 (Friday). They desperately needed some inspiration after the drubbing in Perth and Starc’s corker was just the kind of moment that could turn the team’s fortunes around completely in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. 

However, Jaiswal's golden duck turned out to be a red herring of sorts. Shubman Gill remained untroubled in the first hour despite being exposed to a fresh wicket and a fired-up Starc. KL Rahul was asked all sorts of questions, remaining on nought after 17 balls, but the Aussies refused to take his wicket: Rahul was first dismissed off a no-ball on Scott Boland’s first ball, and then, two balls later, he was put down at first slip by Usman Khawaja.

After a shaky start, India suddenly found themselves 69/1 with just over 30 minutes to go for the dinner break. With the pink ball having the reputation for being ‘easy to score off’ after the first 20 overs, it looked like India had indeed passed the hard test and were in with the opportunity to feast on some easy runs, particularly with Australia turning to the off-spin of Nathan Lyon.

The script went fully according to plan for the visitors until it didn’t.

In an astonishing turn of events, Australia ended up winning the session by taking three wickets for 13 runs in the final 35 minutes. Not only did they dismiss both the set batters Rahul and Gill, but also claimed the huge scalp of Virat Kohli. From 69/1, India, much to their dismay, were reduced to 81/4 at Dinner.

The mini-collapse was started by Starc, who needed only four balls to make an impact in his second spell. Rahul had been living dangerously, and his luck finally ran out after he sliced one to the gully, where young Nathan McSweeney took a spectacular catch diving low. As Starc angled one across him, Rahul fended at the ball but ended up poking it to the gully fielder, unable to get on top of the bounce.

Rahul’s dismissal brought Kohli to the crease, and after nearly perishing to a loose drive on his fifth ball - chasing a wide one from Boland, identical to how he got dismissed in the second innings of the WTC Final last year - the 36-year-old was undone by extra bounce for the second time in the series. Starc was the bowler once again, and, just like he did against Rahul, the left-armer angled a ball across the right-hander. Kohli did not commit to the tentative poke and paid the price as he guided the ball straight to Steve Smith at second slip.

The third and final dismissal of the mini-collapse was of Gill, who missed a straight one from Boland. The Victorian went full and straight at the stumps, and Gill, after not putting a foot wrong all innings, got trapped plumb in front, failing to connect his flick. It was so plumb that the 25-year-old did not even bother reviewing it. 

At 69/1 with two set batters against a clearly under-confident Aussie unit, India would have hoped to pile on the runs in the first innings. Instead, they ended up squandering the early advantage, undoing all the hard work of the first 90 minutes.

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