India registered their biggest victory on Australian soil, winning the first Test in Perth by 295 runs.
After reducing the hosts to 227 for 8 at tea, India’s bowlers wasted no time in sealing victory.
Skipper Jasprit Bumrah (3/42) and Mohammed Siraj (3/51) did most of the damage while Washington Sundar (2-48), Nitish Reddy (1-22) and Harshit Rana (1-69) played the support act to perfection as Australia were all out for 238.
India had set Australia a mammoth 534-run target on Day 3.
The in-form Travis Head (89) was dismissed by Bumrah with a delivery that was pitched on length and just kept on climbing as the batter went on a compulsive drive only to edge it behind stumps. Bumrah’s exalted celebration said it all.
Mitchell Marsh (47) was also batting well before Reddy capped a good Test match with a delivery that didn’t give the batter enough room to cut and the inside edge was dragged on to the stumps.
Australia’s most dependable batter in this WTC cycle Alex Carey (36) kept frustrating the visitors but Washington removed Mitchell Starc (12) at stroke of tea.
Earlier, Mohammed Siraj bowled a couple of incisive morning spells to dismiss the seasoned Usman Khawaja and out-of-form Steven Smith as Australia gasped to 104 for 5 at lunch
Chasing a near-impossible target of 534, Australia, resuming on 12 for 3, were reduced to 17 for 4 when Khawaja’s mistimed pull off Mohammed Siraj (3/34 in 10 overs) was well taken by the IPL’s three million dollar man Rishabh Pant, running backwards.
India’s new nemesis Travis Head (63 batting, 72 balls) then started counter-punching in the company of Smith (17), who was trying his best to dig in with desperation and come out of his current rut.
However Siraj, who had poor series against New Zealand at home, was all over the Australian batters on a pitch that has ‘misbehaved’ considerably with variable bounce coming into play.
If Khawaja was out to a delivery that got big on the southpaw opener, Smith got one that was pitched on perfect length and deviated enough to kiss his outside edge and Pant completed the formalities, diving to his right and ending a 62-run stand.
Smith and Marnus Labuschagne’s dip in form during this World Test Championship cycle is a major cause for concerns for the hosts.
Smith, in fact, did away with his trigger movement towards the off-stump. knowing fully well that he could be a leg before candidate whenever the Indian bowlers attack the stumps on a pitch with variable bounce.
Head, who got a beauty from Harshit Rana in the first innings, knew that survival wasn’t an option on a deteriorating track and he did not let the loose balls go unpunished as anything pitched up was driven and the short ones were cut disdainfully.
His fifty, off only 63 balls, came with a perfect ramp shot over the keeper’s head.
