At the Gabba, Australian pacer Mitchell Starc believes Australia hold the upper hand over India, particularly after India’s batting struggles, with the team reduced to 51/4.
India’s batting woes have been evident, failing to reach 200 runs in three out of four innings in the series. Their performance in the ongoing Test appears equally concerning.
“At 4/50, we hold a few more cards than they do. So yeah, certainly, you know, the two days of no bowling to start the Test match play a part in that, with back-to-back Tests. There’s plenty on the wicket. I mean, tomorrow is going to dictate what happens. If we can get the ball in the right areas and take a few early ones, that obviously brings in the extra card of the follow-on,” Starc told ABC Sports.
Following Australia’s substantial total of 445 runs, Starc claimed two wickets, and Josh Hazlewood took one before an early lunch, leaving India struggling at 22 for three.
Pat Cummins compounded India’s troubles by dismissing Rishabh Pant in the second session.
After lunch, KL Rahul and Pant faced challenging spells from Starc and Hazlewood, but frequent rain interruptions disrupted play.
Cummins deployed a defensive field setup, with three slips and a gully for Pant, and four slips and a gully for Rahul when Hazlewood was bowling. Starc’s field placement included three slips and two gullies.
The only fielder positioned in front of the wicket during this period was at mid-off, underscoring the Australian bowlers’ dominance.
Starc dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal on the second ball of India’s innings and later removed Shubman Gill. Hazlewood claimed the crucial wicket of Virat Kohli, leaving India in a precarious position reminiscent of their collapse in Adelaide.
Jaiswal was caught by Mitchell Marsh at short mid-wicket while attempting to clip a Starc half-volley.
Gill fell to an excellent catch by Marsh in the slips off Starc’s bowling, having played away from his body.
Kohli’s dismissal followed a familiar pattern. He edged a delivery outside the off-stump to Alex Carey behind the stumps.
Starc played a key role in Kohli’s wicket. After Rahul pulled a Hazlewood short ball, Starc prevented a boundary with a diving save, bringing Kohli back on strike. Kohli was dismissed on the very next delivery.
Hazlewood bowled a full-length delivery outside the off-stump, which Kohli attempted to drive instead of leaving, resulting in an outside edge.
This was the fourth instance of Kohli being dismissed in a similar fashion. Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has suggested Kohli explore alternative approaches to address his vulnerability to deliveries pitched on the fourth and fifth stumps.
Earlier in the day, with two slips and a gully in place, Jasprit Bumrah began the proceedings with a 21-over-old ball.
Resuming his innings on 45, Alex Carey reached his half-century with a boundary off Ravindra Jadeja, achieving the milestone in just 53 balls.
Bumrah bowled another maiden over before Starc slog-swept Jadeja for six over square leg.
Despite his reputation for economical bowling, Jadeja conceded runs at five per over. His lack of control placed additional pressure on India’s already strained pace attack.
The Gabba pitch offered some turn and bounce. However, Jadeja’s tendency to bowl too straight to the left-handers proved costly.