Rohit Sharma's brigade hammered Australia by an innings and 132 runs in just two and a half days in the Border-Gavaskar Test series opener in Nagpur on Saturday (February 11). India's dazzling spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin rattled Australian batters with their exceptional bowling. India first bowled out Australia for a paltry 177 riding on Jadeja's fifer and Ashwin's three-fer. In reply, skipper Rohit Sharma led from the front and struck a sensational century to which was ably supported by Axar Patel's 84 and Jadeja's 70 as India posted a 400-run total to take 223-run lead. In the second innings, Australia again perished for paltry 91, this time Ashwin rose to the occasion with a five-wicket haul as India registered a convincing win to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match Test series
Soon after India's triumph in Nagpur, former India's explosive batter Virender Sehwag took a cheeky dig at Austalian team while replying to Axar's social media post.
"There was a time Australia were way ahead of the rest in playing mind games. Now they are getting a taste of their own medicine. Brilliant from Axar Patel …isse kehte hain kehkar…Mazaa aa gaya," tweeted Sehwag as he shared a screengrab of Axar's quote at the end of the proceedings on Day 2 of the first Test.
Meanwhile, after pocketing the first Test convincingly, India will next face Australia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi from February 17 to February 21.
Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 schedule:
2nd Test at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi - February 17-21
3rd Test at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, March 1-5 (Venue yet to be decided)
4th Test at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad - March 9-13
India’s squad for the first two Tests vs Australia: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav.
Australia Test squad for India tour: Pat Cummins (capt), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.
