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A smashing David Warner century and half-centuries for Steven Smith and Michael Clarke took Australia to a position of strength but three wickets in the last half hour brought India back into the game. Join The Roar for live coverage of the second day of the first Test from Adelaide Oval starting at 11:00am (AEDT).
India looked to be fighting an uphill battle right throughout the day after losing the toss on the first day in Adelaide.
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Warner went after the Indians in a manner not too different from the way he had taken them on in Perth in 2012. He went on to score 145 this time and was aided by half-centuries from the captain and a potential future captain to take Australia to 3/345.
The injury to Clarke meant India could probably add to the wickets column – although it isn’t yet known whether the captain will come back to bat – but it was those last three wickets that ensured they slept a tad better.
Mitchell Marsh looked like he would have gone on to hitting another big one on a feather-bed of a surface but was deceived by some extra bounce from Varun Aaron that took the edge of his bat. Night watchman Nathan Lyon and Brad Haddin fell within 12 balls of each other and the side was left reeling at 6/354 by stumps.
Reeling is perhaps a little harsh given the runs they had already piled up.
One has seen that even on surfaces which are deemed flat for the home team, the visitors have struggled in this day and age. It happened to Australia in their most recent series in the UAE and India will be well aware of the perils of batting on pitches which have more bounce than those they find at home.
Even if they manage to restrict Australia to 400 – and this is their best-case scenario – it is not the kind of total that’s easily chased down against a side containing such a potent attack.
Mitchell Johnson’s rise to the top of the bowling charts in Test match cricket has been phenomenal and it will be India’s turn to face that music. On the other hand, Peter Siddle has a lot to prove after all the criticism that he has received in recent times while Ryan Harris returning to Test cricket could add a lot of sting to the attack.
With Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh and Shane Watson backing the aforementioned trio, the Aussie captain – whoever it is when India bats – will not have too many problems rotating them around. Unlike India, who went in with just four frontline bowlers, the extra choices should help Australia in the event of the pitch continuing to remain unresponsive for the top-notch options.
India have gone in with that extra batsman at number six, which should help them but the onus will be on the top-order to provide them with some sort of a start. With the Indian openers having struggled to make any impact outside the sub-continent over the last two years, it could get difficult yet again but if there is a pitch in Australia that is forgiving for the teams from the sub-continent, it is this one.
Of course India will need to bowl Australia out quickly on the second day but the bigger task for them will be to bat a lot better than they did in the final three Tests in England.
Join me for the second day of this first Test between Australia and India on Wednesday here from 11:00am (AEDT) and post your comments in the section below.
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