Indian bowlers call the shots on day one as Australia dismissed for 263

At the end of day one in Delhi, India secured themselves the driver’s seat as they restricted Australia below 300. Winning the toss, Australia opted to bat first with a couple of changes to the side that included Matthew Kuhnemann and Travis Head in order to add to their bowling variety.

India savored their first success when Mohammed Shami got the better of David Warner after his gritty opening stand between Usman Khawaja. Marnus Labuschagne got off to a steady start and looked slick alongside a warring Usman Khwaja but eventually failed to capitalise. Ravichandran Ashwin dealt a double whammy in quick succession bagging the all-important wickets of Labuschagne and Steve Smith in the same over, leaving the visitors teetering on the cusp of another decline. Travis Head could add very little to the cards as India bolstered their grip on the Aussie batting line-up, returning half of their side to the pavilion.

It was Khwaja and Peter Handscomb who joined hands in rebuilding the innings but before Khwaja departed for a well-fought 81 thanks to an electric fielding effort by KL Rahul. Pat Cummins steered the boat alongside a resolute Handscomb as the latter continued to battle till the very end. Handscombe stayed unbeaten for 72 while the remainder of the Australian tail chimed in, helping the visitors post a fighting first innings total of 263. Mohammed Shami was the pick of the lot with 4 wickets followed by some imperative assistance from the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin as they plundered 6 wickets between them.

India batted out 9 overs with Skipper Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul seeing off the remainder of the day, helping India pile up 21 runs.