Day one of the first Test match between India and Australia in Perth belonged to the bowlers. Seventeen wickets fell on the first day—the first time in 70 years in a Test match on Australian soil.
While the visitors were bowled out for 150, they made the paltry first innings total look imposing by reducing the hosts to 67/7 at stumps. Pacers ruled the roost, with Indian stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah taking four and Josh Hazlewood scalping four for Australia. The latter's compatriot Mitchell Starc chipped in with two wickets, which included the important wicket of Indian opener KL Rahul.
Matthew Hayden explaining the KL Rahul bat-pad scenario.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 22, 2024
- Unlucky, KL. 💔 pic.twitter.com/lf0UOWwmy8
Rahul was promoted to the top in the absence of skipper Rohit Sharma, who skipped the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to be with his newborn and wife Ritika. Rahul looked solid in the middle, making 26 runs in 74 balls, even as wickets continued to tumble at the other end. His contentious dismissal with India's score reading 47, was a turning point in the match. He tried to defend a delivery off Starc, only to seemingly nick it to wicketkeeper Alex Carey. On-field umpire Richard Kettleborough ruled in Rahul's favour, but Australia got the decision overturned using DRS.
What Starc said about KL Rahul's dismissal
Third umpire Richard Illingworth's call to overturn the on-field umpire's decision surprised netizens and some former players alike, because there was no conclusive evidence to prove whether Starc's delivery grazed the bat or the snickometer responded to the bat brushing the pads.
However, the Aussie left-arm pacer said it was a “regulation wicket”.
"It got overturned obviously, but I thought it was regulation, the sound it made, the timing of it, I thought it was just a regulation wicket," Starc said at a press conference.
Starc will resume on six not out along with Carey (19*) on Saturday.
