The opening day of the fourth and last Test saw an equal contest between India and Australia. The inexperienced Indian bowling did a fine job by scalping five wickets. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravi Ashwin were ruled out of The Gabba Test ahead of the day’s play and India thus handed Test debut to T Natarajan and Washington Sundar. At close of play on day one, Australia were 274 for five with Cameron Green and Tim Paine batting on 28 and 38 respectively after Marnus Labuschagne scored a century. India vs Australia 4th Test 2021 Highlights Day 1.
Opting to bat first, Australia lost opening batsman David Warner in the first over when he was caught at second slip. In the ninth over, Shardul Thakur was introduced into the attack and he straightaway dismissed Marcus Harris to leave Australia at 17 for two. Prithvi Shaw Mercilessly Trolled With Funny Memes After Accidentally Hitting Rohit Sharma With Wayward Throw During India vs Australia 4th Test 2021 (Watch Video).
Steve Smith and Labuschagne steadied the ship with 70-run stand for the third wicket. After the lunch break, debutant Sundar accounted for prized scalp of Smith as Australia lost their third wicket. Labuschagne then shared 113-run stand with Matthew Wade as Australia reached the 200-run mark. However, debutant Natarajan struck in quick succession to dismiss Wade and centurion Labuschagne. Meanwhile, check out stat highness from day one. Dinesh Karthik Warns Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammad Shami After Rohit Sharma Steps into Navdeep Saini’s Shoes.
# Marnus Labuschagne scored his fifth Test century.
# Labuschagne scored his first Test century against India.
# T Natarajan became the 300th player to represent India in Tests.
# Washington Sundar became the 301st player to represent India in Tests.
# Natarajan also became the first Indian player to make a Test, ODI & T20I debut on the same tour.
Green and Paine then added 61 runs for the sixth wicket before the play on day was called off. Australia made one change from the previous Test as injured Will Pucovski was replaced by Harris. India were forced to make four changes. Apart from two debutants, Mayank Agarwal and Shardul Thakur were included in the playing XI.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 15, 2021 01:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).