The first day of the World Test Championship final match totally went into Australia’s favour, as they put 327 runs on the board with a loss of just three wickets. Mohammad Siraj dismissed Usman Khawaja on a duck and gave India their first wicket, after this, David Warner and Marcus Labuschagne were dismissed by Shardul Thakur and Mohammad Shami, respectively. After this, Steve Smith and Travis Head built a big partnership of 251 runs and became unstoppable. Head has already scored his sixth century, while Smith is just five runs away from his 31st century.
After 10 overs batting became easy
The Indian side was not satisfied with their performance on the first day because, after taking three early wickets, they gave way too many runs to the opposition. In the overcast conditions, the duo of Shami and Siraj tested Australia with excellent line, seam, and length, but after 10 overs, the bowl turned old and batting became easier. With the first day over, the decision to go with four fast bowlers and drop R Ashwin from the playing XI didn’t look good now.
Bharat impressive behind the stumps
Although the day didn’t go in favour of Indian bowlers, there were a few positives from the side as well. The most noteworthy was the young wicketkeeper, KS Bharat. While keeping, he took two amazing catches and was alert on every ball, justifying his selection in the playing XI over Ishan Kishan. Bharat saved many extra runs with his long jumps and reaction time. He was most impressive when he collected a sharp and high delivery from Shami. for this, he also grabbed headlines.
The youngster overruled Kohli
During this delivery, Smith tried to pull the bat but missed, and Bharat jumped in time and completed the catch. When the ball was near the bat, a sound was heard, and despite not being given out by the on-field umpire, some fielders looked upbeat behind, and the most excited was Virat Kohli. He was convinced that the ball had hit his gloves, but in a rare scene, he was calmed down by Bharat and told not to go for a review or reassure the skipper, Rohit Sharma. This act of Bharat was hailed by former England captain Nasir Hussain in the commentary box.
Hussain said, “He was very tough with Virat Kohli , it is not easy to counter Kohli, but he did. The former captain wanted to review, but Bharat, playing his 5th test match, ran up to King Kohli and said “No, you got that wrong. This was brave and right”.
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