IND vs AUS 1st Test: Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy rescue India after early collapse

India’s Rishabh Pant smashes a six off Australia skipper Pat Cummins in Perth yesterday. Pic/Getty Images

For four hours on Friday morning, India's batters were given the runaround by Australia's excellent pace attack, expertly led by Josh Hazlewood. Save for brief pockets of resistance from KL Rahul, then the ebullient Rishabh Pant and finally impressive debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy, the rest found no answers to the numerous questions posed on a spicy Optus Stadium deck on Friday's Day One of the first Test.

The rot set in the third over, after Jasprit Bumrah opted to bat, when Yashasvi Jaiswal drove Mitchell Starc on the up, a shot perfectly ‘on' in India, but an invitation for disaster here, and unerringly picked out the gully fielder. Hazlewood then took over, luring a scoreless Devdutt Padikkal to nick off to Alex Carey and defeating Virat Kohli with excessive bounce that the No. 4 could only parry to first slip.

Unlucky Rahul

India were wobbling at 32-3, which became 47-4 when Rahul was unlucky to be adjudged caught behind by the television umpire on review, though there was no conclusive evidence that the bat and ball had made contact when Starc beat the right-hander on the outside edge.

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If India rallied to reach 150, not huge by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly competitive as subsequent events would prove, it was largely on the back of the assurance of Pant and the composure of Nitish, who batted with purpose, enterprise and adventure in his maiden hit at this level.

Pant alternated between obdurate defence and outrageous strokeplay, such as a cheeky scoop, falling over, off Pat Cummins that sailed over the fine-leg fence
for six, while Nitish took to Nathan Lyon, driving crisply over the off-side infield and then essaying the reverse scoop repeatedly when he figured out that there was no drift for the off-spinner.

Crucial 48-run stand

With neither Dhruv Jurel nor Washington Sundar, preferred to R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as the sole spinner, offering much, India relied on the 48-run seventh-wicket stand between Pant and Nitish to take them to a modicum of respectability. There was great seam movement on a grassy knoll for Australia's four-pronged pace attack and each of them weighed in with crucial strikes, Mitchell Marsh joining the party post lunch with the scalps of both Jurel and Washington.

Hazlewood was the undisputed star with 4-29 and Cummins went for a fair few, but Australia had reason to feel delighted with their work with the ball. That joy wouldn't last too long.

Brief scores
India 150 all out (N Kumar Reddy 41, R Pant 37; J Hazlewood 4-29, M Marsh 2-12, M Starc 2-14, P Cummins 2-67) v Australia 67-7 (A Carey 19'; J Bumrah 4-17, M Siraj 2-17)

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