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Day one in Perth became an exploration of what constitutes regular and irregular in Test cricket nowadays, and when it was done, India had its strut back and Australia knew it had a series on its hands. At this rate, this series will be a five-Test whirlwind.
India outgunning Australia in Australia, it has to be acknowledged, is the new black. If Australia had expected normal service to resume, they were rudely disabused.
Mitch Marsh’s lonely walk back to the pavilion was a familiar one for many on day one.Credit: Getty Images
At one level, this was business as usual in Test cricket in Perth, where you have always had to have your wits about you. As has been well-reported, balls and pitches across the country are livelier than previously.
This is the new regular, and mostly it’s a good thing. Jasprit Bumrah thinks so… The intrigue about this series intensified. Once, a day so hotly contested might have led to words between the teams.
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This day, there was hostility only in the attack and counter-attack. At one point, Mitch Marsh and Rishabh Pant bumped elbows while grinning fraternally. The only edge in play was the outside, constantly.
Australians generally have taken a new-ball quality shine to Pant and Bumrah, Virat Kohli too. In cricket’s new dispensation, hopefully it survives whatever comes next. The least we know is that it will come quickly. Supposedly, the pitch will speed up a bit on Saturday. Don’t dither at the pool or the beach.
Read Greg Baum’s full analysis of a remarkable series opening day here.