India outclassed Australia in all facets of the game to register a thumping 295-run victory in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener at the Optus Stadium, Perth.
After getting bowled out for 150 in the first innings, the visitors made a stunning comeback. Riding on stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah’s five-wicket haul, they bundled out the Aussies for a paltry 104 to gain a handy 46-run lead.
The Indian batting line-up responded brilliantly in the second dig, with the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal (161), KL Rahul (77) and Virat Kohli (100*) registering big scores to propel the tourists to 487/6 (declared).
Setting a colossal 534-run target for Australia, the Indian bowlers produced another masterclass to skittle Pat Cummins' men out for just 238. Bumrah starred with the ball once again as he took three wickets and were ably supported by Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Australian legend Ricky Ponting hailed the Perth Test win as one of India’s greatest in the longest format, given that they were missing some of their first-choice stars like Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Mohammad Shami.
“It’ll go down, I’m sure, as one of India’s greatest-ever Test match wins, and it probably should. With the players down that they had… Rohit (Sharma), not there, (Shubman) Gill, not there, and (Mohammed) Shami not there… It’s an amazing win. After getting bowled out for 150, it was a bit, yeah, a shock win. And they’ve won by the best part of 300 runs. So it’s an incredible turnaround,” Ponting said.
The former Australian skipper had special praise reserved for Jasprit Bumrah, who returned with eight wickets in the match.
"Oh, no doubt, Bumrah led the way. The way he bowled at the start of the first innings was incredible. You know, with Shami not being there, he had to stand up and lead the way. And being the captain, he did it. He did it on field with his leadership, and he did it with the ball in hand,” Ponting stated.
"Obviously, Virat (Kohli, who scored an unbeaten century) had to do what he did in the second innings and he set the game up along with (Yashasvi) Jaiswal. But I think their whole bowling group stood up late on Day One. The second half of the first day was probably where the game changed,” he further remarked.
India made a remarkable turnaround to win the BGT opener after the 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand at home, prompting Ponting to say that the Indian batters now enjoy playing in overseas conditions that at home.
"One point I did make, and I think it's really true. I'm not sure how much (this) has been spoken about here, but I think Indian batsmen now play better away from home than they play at home. I think they're better players of fast bowling now than they are of spin bowling,” he said.
Ahead of the series, Ricky Ponting had tipped Australia to clinch the BGT 3-1, and he still stands by his prediction.
"No, I have not changed my view. I'll stay with that. India won the first (Test). I said 3-1 at the start. Yes, I'll stick with it. But it's a long way back. The Aussies have now got a fair bit of work to do," he concluded.
The second Test between India and Australia will be played with the pink ball from December 6 to 10 at the Adelaide Oval.
