It was a very eventful first day of the Mumbai Test as India posted a total of 221 for the loss of four wickets. In a match delayed by wet outfield, Mayank Agarwal was the silver-lining with an unbeaten 120. While there were notable performances on the day, there was also an unfortunate record registered on the name of Cheteshwar Pujara and skipper Virat Kohli.
Both Pujara and Kohli were dismissed for ducks batting at no.3 and no.4 in the same innings respectively by Ajaz Patel. Kohli's dismissal though was controversial as the ball appeared to have glanced Kohli’s bat before the pad. However, the on-field umpire’s decision remained unchanged even after review because of lack of conclusive evidence.
This was the first time since November 1994 that both of India’s no.3 and no.4 were dismissed for ducks in the same innings on home turf. Nayan Mongia and local boy Vinod Kambli were dismissed for ducks in the contest played out at the same venue. India went on to win the match by 96 runs despite the failure of the middle order.
The Srinath coincidence
The match has some common elements from the ongoing contest. Javagal Srinath who is the match referee for the India vs New Zealand match was the ‘Man of the Match’ in the encounter against West Indies. The match played in November 1994 was also played at Wankhede stadium.
If we turn the clock back even further, the only other occasion in which both no.3 and no.4 were dismissed for ducks in the same innings was in January 1952 in Kanpur. Polly Umrigar and the great Vijay Hazare were dismissed by Roy Tattersall in the same over for respective ducks. The result though will be less remembered as India were handed a humiliated loss by eight wickets by England.
India though will now be determined to make good progress after a productive Day 1 as Mayank Agarwal and company will try to consolidate on their good start. Kohli’s spin trio will try to make full use of the conditions in Mumbai as spinner Ajaz Patel is already extracting much turn from the pitch. So far, the Mumbai-born bowler has picked all of India’s four wickets.
