In Test cricket, Australia, the current World Test Champions, has been one of the best performers in recent times. Their formidable bowling quartet—Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Josh Hazlewood—is the cause of their continuous success. On Day 1 of the first Test match against India at Optus Stadium in Perth, the four bowlers were on fire and rattled the Indian top order to put Australia on top. Pat Cummins provided economical spells to support Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who each took two wickets early on.
The quartet created history
During the Perth Test, the bowling quartet made history by becoming the first group of bowlers to take 500 Test wickets together. Pat Cummins has taken the most wickets (130) out of the 500, followed by Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who each contributed 124. Nathan Lyon has 122 wickets to his name.
The England quartet of Stuart, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, and James Anderson, who combined for 415 wickets in whites, is the closest to the Australian quartet. In 130 games, Nathan Lyon has claimed 530 wickets overall. In 90 games, Mitchell Stac has taken 360 wickets. Pat Cummins has taken 269 wickets in 63 games, while Josh Hazlewood has taken 275 in 71 games.
Meanwhile, India could not perform up to the mark with the bat in the first test. The visitors got all out for just 150 runs and found themselves in a spot of bother against the Aussies.
India's decision to bat did not go well as they lost Devdutt Padikkal and Yashavsvi Jaiswal to ducks. Virat Kohli went out for just five runs and did not impress either. KL Rahul appeared to be playing well when he was at the crease, but the third umpire's contentious call ended his innings. India was in serious difficulty after Dhruv Jurel and Washington Sundar were dismissed early in the second session.
Rishabh Pant and Nitish Reddy steadied the boat for a while and helped India teach a fighting total. Josh Hazlewood was the highest wicket-taker for Aussies with four scalps to his name and meanwhile, Starc, Cummins and Marsh settled with two-wickets each.
