Australia’s Scott Boland reacts after delivery during day one of the Fifth Men’s Test Match against India at Sydney Cricket Ground on January 03, 2025, in Sydney, Australia.
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Friday dawned to the wet streaks of rain, just about enough to accentuate the green on leaves. When the dampness paused, it was time for cricket’s annual pilgrimage to the Sydney Cricket Ground.

India turned up with Jasprit Bumrah at the helm while Rohit Sharma, according to the former, opted to rest. A change in leadership, however, did not usher in a difference in the manner the visitors batted on a pitch that seemed more Perth and less Sydney.

There was movement and some bounce, and as the fifth Test’s opening day stretched, the template of wilting Indian batters against resurgent Australian pacers, was on view. At close, Australia scored nine for one in reply to India’s first innings score of 185. A fired up Bumrah, after a chat with Sam Konstas, dismissed Usman Khawaja.

Earlier, the Indian stint was punctured by the regular fall of wickets interspersed with few partnerships. In the last session, Rishabh Pant (40), stifled by the host’s attack, tried to strike one over the fence but miscued it off Scott Boland. The relentless speedster made it an encore by scalping Nitish Kumar. And it fell upon Washington Sundar to avert the hat-trick, which he barely managed.

The incisions continued as Mitchell Starc pegged Ravindra Jadeja back and won the lbw appeal. Later, Washington was adjudged caught behind off Cummins even as doubts lingered about the edge. The tail withered while Bumrah swung his bat around.

This batting meltdown was the frayed common thread that linked all the sessions. In the middle one, Virat Kohli tried to ride the bounce that Boland extracted around off-stump. The impetus to play overwhelmed the batter’s late effort at restraint and the edge flew to debutant Beau Webster.

It was left to southpaws Pant and Jadeja to plaster the cracks. The former eschewed his usual charge-and-slam and tumble-and-scoop routines. Pant withstood terrible blows and this was him embracing the spirit of Cheteshwar Pujara. Once he hoisted Webster into the sightscreen.

Meanwhile, Jadeja remained sombre, and enjoyed two slivers of luck as Steve Smith and Lyon dropped him, and India moved to 107 for four at tea.

In the morning, Bumrah won the toss and elected to bat. Yashasvi Jaiswal forced Starc past long-on for four but the speedster found relief when K.L. Rahul flicked straight to Konstas. The soft dismissal ushered in Shubman Gill, who had replaced Rohit in the eleven.

But India struggled as Jaiswal fell to Boland. It would have become worse but when Kohli edged his first ball, Smith, juggled the catch and popped it to Marnus Labuschagne at gully. A catch was claimed but television replays hinted at a probable scraping of the turf.

Kohli and Gill buckled down before the latter gave the charge to Nathan Lyon at the stroke of lunch. The batter sliced the ball to Smith. India 57 for three at the break and the batting horrors continued for a large part of the day.

Scoreboard

India – 1st innings: Yashasvi Jaiswal c Webster b Boland 10 (26b, 1×4), K.L. Rahul c Konstas b Starc 4 (14b), Shubman Gill c Smith b Lyon 20 (64b, 2×4), Virat Kohli c Webster b Boland 17 (69b), Rishabh Pant c Cummins b Boland 40 (98b, 3×4, 1×6), Ravindra Jadeja lbw b Starc 26 (95b, 3×4), Nitish Kumar c Smith b Boland 0 (1b), Washington Sundar c Carey b Cummins 14 (30b, 3×4), Prasidh Krishna c Konstas b Starc 3 (10b), Jasprit Bumrah c Starc b Cummins 22 (17b, 3×4, 1×6), Mohammed Siraj (not out) 3 (16b). Extras (b-11, lb-9, nb-6): 26; Total (all out in 72.2 overs): 185.

Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Rahul, 4.6 overs), 2-17 (Jaiswal, 7.4), 3-57 (Gill, 24.6), 4-72 (Kohli, 31.3), 5-120 (Pant, 56.4), 6-120 (Nitish, 56.5), 7-134 (Jadeja, 62.4), 8-148 (Washington, 65.6), 9-168 (Prasidh, 68.2).

Australia bowling: Starc 18-5-49-3, Cummins 15.2-4-37-2, Boland 20-8-31-4, Webster 13-4-29-0, Lyon 6-2-19-1.

Australia – 1st innings: Sam Konstas (batting) 7 (8b, 1×4), Usman Khwaja c Rahul b Bumrah 2 (10b). Extras: 0; Total (for one wkt., in three overs): 9.

India bowling: Bumrah 2-0-7-1, Siraj 1-0-2-0.

India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal during a training session at Adelaide Oval on December 03, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia.
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The guardians of the 22-yards that matter in cricket, are often secretive about the surfaces they offer. The Adelaide Oval’s head curator Damian Hough, while believing in the mystique of a pitch, still held a mirror to the turf that would play host to the second Test, a day-and-night fixture, between Australia and India here from Friday (December 6, 2024).

Also read:Alex Carey backs Australia’s ‘world-class’ batters to counter Bumrah threat

Talking to the media on a sunny Wednesday (December 4, 2024) morning, Damian said: “We are happy about where we are today, the compaction and the moisture is where we want it to be. You do adapt every year, get some finer details in. It is coarse matted grass, even grass cover, good with regard to moisture, but dry and hard, so something where the quicks will get a bit out of it, spinners will be able to get some light turn and bounce, but also important for us to get some partnerships with the players and the batters to be able to play their shots.”

As for the granular detail about the grass, Damian was quick to reply: “Should be around six millimetres.” And when queried again about the pitch, the curator remained guarded: “All we do is try and produce a pitch that provides an even contest between bat and ball.”

With all the talk about pace, Damian was quick to point out the venue’s soft corner for spin: “Be assured, at the Adelaide Oval, traditionally spin plays a role and we don’t see that changing.” The weather, though, might queer the pitch and Damian added: “Looks like some storms on Friday. Hopefully it clears out Saturday morning and it should be good for the remainder of the Test.”