A wily India demolished the visitors’ second innings in a single session to win the first Test here Saturday by commanding innings and 132 run margin after Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed a flustered Australia with a fifer. Jadeja received a 25% match fee penalty for using cream without the umpires’ consent.
India devastated Australia for just 91 in 32.3 overs after building a commanding 223-run first-inning advantage, and the Test match at Jamtha’s VCA stadium was over in three days. An Australian inning usually lasts up to one session. When India reached a dominant 400 for the first innings thanks to Axar Patel’s career-best 84 and Mohammed Shami’s entertaining 37, Ashwin (5/37) literally shredded the Australians with the new ball to claim his 31st five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
Again playing the pitch rather than the bowler, the Australian hitters committed the cardinal sin and appeared completely unsure of whether to attack or defend. The Indian innings demonstrated that Australian batters’ demons were inside their heads, not on the 22-yard strip.
