‘Skittish’ Kohli sight has Aussies licking lips; Smith issue rears ugly head: Talking Pts

The champion bowler, whose average of just over 20 is the second best in history for cricketers who have taken more than 150 wickets, was on a hat-trick after skittling Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith with successive balls in his fourth over of the afternoon.

By that stage he had snared Australian debutant Nathan McSweeney for a scratchy 10 and had Marnus Labuschagne ducking, weaving and effectively feathered and tarred as the No. 3 scrambled to get bat on ball, let alone score a run, former Indian coach Ravi Shastri said.

“He has been hit on the body. Hit on the pads. He has scratched around the crease. Bumrah has been at him,” he said.

Such was the quality of the spell, it was wise not to look away for a moment for fear of missing the next astonishing delivery from Bumrah.

The stand-in skipper’s decision to bat first after winning the toss was understandably questioned given India managed only 150. But he bowled India bat into the contest with incredible discipline and accuracy in a relentless spell that unnerved the Australian batters.

“It is one of the most inspirational captain’s spells I have seen,” Kerry O’Keeffe said.

Mark Waugh told foxsports.com.au that Bumrah was a handful in any conditions.

“He’s definitely right up there. He’s got to be in the top two or three,” he said.

“Look at this Test match. You (have) probably got the best bowlers in the world on both teams on their day, but Bumrah is right up there. I mean his record is (about) 180 weeks at about 20.

“He’s just such a threat to all batsman with his pace and accuracy and his variations. He’s right up there.”

Vaughan said the 30-year-old’s deeds on the first day only reinforced his assessment.

“Without any question. I think he’s the best in the world across all the formats,” he said.

“I think Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Josh Hazlewood — probably not across all the formats — but I think he’s a good distance ahead of most.

“It is just because of that release point and that ability to get the ball going in and out against the different styles of player, and his length control is immaculate.”

AN OLD FLAW EXPOSED AGAIN OR SIMPLY THE VICTIM OF A DEADLY PITCH?

The talk leading into the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was that Steve Smith had found his hands again. Vaughan could see success this summer “in his eyes”. Sliding back down to No. 4 would add comfort and sturdiness to the Australian top-order.

That may yet ring true, for on an extraordinary day where 17 wickets fell, to judge any batter on their performance seems foolhardy, as Fox Cricket experts Waugh and Vaughan both stressed.

But the method of Smith’s dismissal — the Australian star trapped LBW for a golden duck when a superb delivery from Bumrah beat his inside edge and rapped him on the pads — is familiar.

In Smith’s most recent Test appearance for Australia in Christchurch in March, he was dismissed LBW in both innings by Ben Sears and Matt Henry respectively for scores of 11 and nine.

He was also trapped LBW in the first innings of the second Test against the West Indies at the Gabba in January, though he did make an unbeaten 91 against the tide in the second innings of that match in Brisbane. It means four of his last six Test dismissals have been LBW.

But just as the sighting of one swallow does not make a summer, Waugh said the context of the entire day needed to be considered in this instance.

“I don’t want to read too much into it today. I mean the pitch is doing enough at pace and Bumrah is a world class bowler. People have always questioned Steve Smith’s technique over the years, and he always responds. He’s a good problem solver,” Waugh said.

“I think his footwork at times, he can go too far across (to) the off-side. So I think it’s something he’s aware of. But I think today, the first ball, I don’t want to read too much into that.”

CATCHES WIN MATCHES

Showing the reflexes of a cat, Marnus Labuschagne’s magnificent tandem act in the slips with Nathan McSweeney to snare Harshit Rana was immediately dubbed a classic.

But Mike Hussey said it was also an example of the importance of staying involved in the game as the Queenslander managed to react quickly enough to assist McSweeney.

“See the reaction quickly. (He was) ready for any ricochet,” Hussey said.

“That is brilliant work from Marnus Labuschagne. It really is. It is (an example) of staying in the game. That will go down as a classic for a long, long time.”

Waugh, who was no stranger to performing freakish deeds in the slips cordon, was delighted with the skill level associated with the catch.

“That was a great catch, the team catch,” he said.

“Obviously McSweeney did a really good job to get a solid hand on it and then Marnus was just a reaction catch. Just staying in the game when you’re in the slips — it doesn’t matter where you’re fielding — you’ve got to expect the ball is going to come to you every time.

“Being in the game and staying focused is so important in the field, and having energy.

“Catches are going to win matches. We saw last summer where Pakistan, if they caught better, they could have beaten Australia in a Test match or two. So when you have got two evenly matched teams like these two, the catching could prove the difference.”

As sensational as Labuschagne’s effort was, two regulation catches in the infancy of the Indian innings set the tone for the day according to Kerry O’Keeffe.

McSweeney’s sharp reflexes in the gully were on show in the third oval when the debutant grasped the edge from Jaiswal from the bowling of Starc.

Hazlewood, who finished with four wickets including Indian champion Virat Kohli, struck eight overs later when securing an edge from Devdutt Paddikal through to wicketkeeper Alex Carey.

“(The) first two catches offered have been taken. The last time India was here, the (Australians) took only 74 per cent. It is significant Australia has taken the first two,” O’Keeffe said.

While a couple of difficult chances went begging — Pat Cummins, for example, was unable to secure Rishabh Pant in the outer while Usman Khawaja lost sight of the ball in the sun when trying to snare Nitish Kumar Reddy — it was an outstanding performance.

And Khawaja was able to make amends when snaring a more difficult catch off the bowling of Cummins two balls later to snare Reddy, who had struck a boundary in between and impressed with 41 on debut.

STARC SETS TONE FOR THE SUMMER WITH STRIKING START

Standing at the MCG last month after taking six wickets against Victoria, Mitchell Starc declared he was feeling as fit as he had in some time leading into the India challenge.

The left-armed paceman dealt with niggling issues throughout last summer after an extended year which included the ODI World Cup triumph in India leading into seven Tests across the Australian summer.

While New South Wales was well-beaten in the Sheffield Shield match by Victoria, Starc was impressive in his first red ball hit-out since March and took five second innings wickets.

The 34-year-old was confident his body would allow him to excel in the Border Gavaskar Trophy, with a view to being able to perform in all five Tests in the series.

The key to that, he said, was ensuring there were a few four day Tests and a couple of shorter innings. If Australia was able to strike early, it would help the attack remain fresh.

Thursday proved an outstanding start from that perspective for Starc, the wayward first delivery down the leg-side which went for four byes aside, and his fellow fast bowlers. To see all-rounder Mitch Marsh charging in and securing two wickets was also encouraging.

“They bowled beautiful, obviously in helpful conditions, but you have still got to get the job done,” Waugh said.

“That bowling attack is just one of the best you’ll ever see, I think, the Australian attack. They are three great fast bowlers and a top quality, great off-spinner. They’ve often got to share the wickets, because they’re all so good, (whereas) someone like a Bumrah will obviously shine out in the Indian attack.

“Whereas Australia, which have three world class fast bowlers, they often share the workload and share the wickets, but each in their own right, they are all fantastic bowlers.”

Indian star Yashasvi Jaiswal was welcomed to Australia by a formidable burst of bowling from both Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who finished with four wickets.

Jaiswal lasted just eight deliveries and recorded his second duck from 15 Tests when edging a Lee delivery to Australian debutant Nathan McSweeney in the gully.

But it was not the only brilliant delivery in a decisive opening spell from the Australian quick, who beat the bat repeatedly and also snared KL Rahul in what was a contentious decision.

Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri touched on the rhythm Starc has found early in the summer when noting he was able to “mix it up nicely” in terms of variety.

Vaughan, though, expressed surprise in one facet of Australia’s first day planning. On a wicket where pace proved devastating, he was surprised Nathan Lyon, who finished with 0-23 from five overs, was deployed by Cummins.

“The one surprise from Australia is the number of overs that Nathan Lyon bowled. I don’t think Josh Hazlewood came on early enough in the afternoon session,” Vaughan said.

“Obviously Mitchell Marsh did the job. If you asked the group of Indian players who they would want to face in Perth on a day one wicket that was doing plenty, I think they would say Nathan Lyon.”

‘HE LOOKED SKITTISH’: KOHLI’S SCRATCHY START

Virat Kohli never truly looked comfortable at Perth Stadium on Friday when at the crease and later had a nightmare moment in the slips.

The Indian superstar, playing his second Test at the Perth venue, struggled to adjust to the bouncy surface as Australia’s quicks bashed away on a good length during the morning session.

A leading edge, a thud into the thigh guard, a play and miss, a tentative fend — he couldn’t settle into a rhythm.

In an attempt to fight fire with fire, or to throw the Australians off their length, Kohli took guard a metre out of his crease, even walking towards the bowler.

According to CricViz, the average interception point of 2.64m was the furthest he had batted away from the popping crease in his Test career.

“You can see where he’s coming standing outside his crease … but you’ve got to know when to push back a little bit too,” former Indian coach Ravi Shastri said on Fox Cricket.

“When the pitch doesn’t have the spice … that’s when you make that movement going forward to negate the movement.”

After a scratchy start, Kohli finally found the middle of his bat in the 16th over, punching a full delivery from rival captain Pat Cummins down the ground for three. The shot prompted flashbacks of the stunning century he scored at Perth Stadium in 2018.

But the celebrations were short-lived for Indian fans. The following over, Kohli awkwardly prodded at a short delivery from Josh Hazlewood that jumped off the surface and caught the edge, with the champion caught at first slip by Usman Khawaja for 5.

“I want to see him more composed (given) he’s played well in Australia before and averages 50-odd here — there’s been a compactness about him,” former Australian spinner Kerry O’Keefe said on Fox Cricket.

“Today he looked skittish again. He was walking at the bowler. This is a pitch with spice in it. You’ve got to stay compact. He didn’t look balanced at any stage, and succumbed to one that lifted. It’s his strategy that he has to address.”

Similarly to Waugh’s belief that it was difficult to assess anyone too harshly given the remarkable day of cricket, Vaughan said Kohli should be viewed with similar context.

“It is too hard to judge him. Coming out of the crease in Perth when the ball is bouncing is a tactic not many try to pull off and he went for that,” he said.

“It bounced and he found the outside edge. But I think that now we have seen Australia (bat), this was clearly kind of a pitch where you had to be proactive because there’s plenty of balls out there.

“So generally in this era of the game, when the pitch does anything, players try to play aggressively and try to do things to disrupt the bowler. It’s not a tactic I would have used. But … Virat Kohli is a legend of the game and you had to try to do something.”

Kohli has averaged 21.25 in Tests this year, with his most recent scores being 5, 1, 4, 17 and 1.

As brilliant as the Bumrah-led counter-attack proved, India will need their No. 4 firing over the coming seven weeks to retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy.