ADELAIDE: Top order batsmen Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne strengthened Australia’s command with an unbeaten 42-run partnership after Mitchel Starc ran through India’s batting line-up on the opening day of the second Test here at Adelaide Oval on Friday .
At stumps, the home team were 86/1, trailing by 94 runs, with McSweeney (38) and Labuschagne (20) in the middle.
The pair batted sensibly in the final minutes of a busy opening day to rally Australia from 20/1 when left-hander Usman Khawaja fell victim to Jasprit Bumrah for a cagey 13.
Earlier in the day, India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to bat first.
His decision, however, backfired as the touring side were booked for a modest 180 thanks to Starc’s six-wicket haul.
The experienced pacer engineered a dream start for Australia by dismissing young striker Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) in the very first over of the match.
After the initial hiccup, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill formed an anchoring second-wicket partnership that yielded 69 runs.
The duo appeared to have calmed down until Starc struck again to remove Rahul, who scored 37 off 64 balls, hitting six boundaries.
Rahul’s dismissal sparked a collapse in the middle order that saw India lose half of their team with just 87 runs on the board.
Coming out to bat at number seven, Nitish Kumar Reddy took the reins of India’s batting expedition and fought a lone battle against a determined Australian bowling attack.
Reddy was involved in two crucial partnerships with Rishabh Pant (21) and Ravichandran Ashwin (22) amid their struggle, which culminated in the 45th over against Starc.
The right-handed batsman continued to be India’s top scorer with 42 off 54 balls, laced with three fours and as many sixes.
Starc was Australia’s standout bowler thanks to his brilliant figures of 6/48, while captain Pat Cummins and Scott Boland contributed two wickets each.
