 "Indian batters crumble yet again as Australia level Test series with 10-wicket win in Adelaide pink-ball Test")
Australia outplayed India with bat as well as with ball in a little over two days to bounce back from the 295-run hammering in Perth with a clinical 10-wicket victory in Adelaide on Sunday. Australia bundled India out for a modest 175, with the Rohit Sharma-led visitors adding just 47 runs for their remaining five wickets in the morning session of Day 3, leaving the the reigning world Test champions just 19 runs to level the five-Test series with three games to go.
Skipper Pat Cummins led the way with a haul of 5/57 and was well-supported by Scott Boland (3/51) and Mitchell Starc (2/60) as Australia restricted India to a sub-200 score for the second time in three days before openers Nathan McSweeney (10 not out) and Usman Khawaja (9 not out) chased down the modest target in just 3.2 overs to help Australia maintain their winning streak in pink-ball Tests.
Pant, Reddy fail to steer India past 200
Dangerman Rishabh Pant failed to negotiate the opening over from Mitchell Starc and was out without adding to his overnight 28 while Cummins accounted for Ravichandran Ashwin (7) then Harshit Rana (0).
Allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy made a plucky 42 before he fell to Scott Boland, who then removed Mohammed Siraj (7) to end the innings.
While Cummins and Boland shared eight wickets between them in India’s second essay, Starc took eight wickets for the match.
The rare caught-at-fly-slip!
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 8, 2024
Pat Cummins raises the pink ball with his fifth wicket! #AUSvIND | #MilestoneMoment | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/kVKBdW346Q
Impact Shorts
More ShortsDefeat was another painful memory of Adelaide for India, who also crashed within three days in 2020 when they were bundled out for 36 – their lowest-ever Test score.
Victory capped a fighting turnaround for Australia after being crushed by 295 runs in the opening game at Perth, which sparked fierce criticism over whether the top-ranked but ageing team could still produce the goods.
While Khawaja and Steve Smith were again notable flops with the bat, the hosts largely silenced the critics – at least until the next Test at the Gabba in Brisbane from Saturday.
Also Read | Australia regain top spot in World Test Championship standings as India slip to 3rd
Australia were always odds-on favourites in Adelaide despite the Perth calamity, boasting far more experience of day-night Test cricket.
They have now won 12 of their 13 games played under lights, including a perfect 8-0 record in Adelaide.
In contrast, India have a 3-2 win-loss record in the format, with both defeats to Australia in the South Australian capital.
Australia outshine India with bat as well as with ball
India’s problems began on the first ball of the match, when a menacing Starc trapped hot-shot young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal – a century-maker in Perth – lbw.
They never recovered, all out for 180, with Reddy top-scoring on 42 and Starc ending with a career-best 6-48.
India’s pace attack were then unable to make the best use of the new pink ball when Australia battled through a difficult phase till stumps for the loss of just Khawaja on day one.
Also Read | Rohit Sharma laments India’s inability to capitalise on opportunities in Adelaide
The visitors’ bowling coach Morne Morkel pinpointed a failure by their young attack to find the right lines and lengths.
The next day Travis Head made them pay with a rollicking game-changing 140 while Marnus Labuschagne hit 64 to propel Australia to 337 and an ominous 157-run lead.
And in contrast to India, Australia then drew on their experience to decimate India’s top order when they took the new ball at dusk on Saturday.
It left them with just five wickets to mop up Sunday, which they did with minimum fuss.
Game over! Australia level the series 💪#AUSvIND | #PlayOfTheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/7djgXWBfg7
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 8, 2024
Pant made his intentions clear, swinging wildly at Starc’s second ball, and was gone four deliveries later, thick-edging to Smith.
Cummins took care of Ashwin, who gloved a bouncer to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, then Rana for nought with another bumper that popped up to Khawaja at gully.
Reddy, India’s best batter in both innings, was caught by McSweeney in the deep before Boland sent Siraj back to put India out of their misery.
Brief scores:
India 180 and 175 in 36.5 overs (Nitish Reddy 42; Pat Cummins 5/57, Scott Boland 3/51) lost to Australia 337 and 19/0 (Nathan McSweeney 10*, Usman Khawaja 9*) by 10 wickets.
_With AFP inputs
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