It has been described as “one of Australia’s worst days of Test cricket” and it’s hard to argue after India completely put the hosts to the sword on day three.
From start to finish, it was complete annihilation in Perth, from young gun Yashasvi Jaiswal notching a century to Jasprit Bumrah tearing a hole in the top order.
While a lot of the hype will be around Virat Kohli’s breakthrough ton after 16 months, the performance from the Aussies has raised major alarm bells for the rest of the series.
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“I doubt that an overseas player has come to Australia in the last 15 years and played in this fashion,” Indian legend Ravi Shastri said on Fox Cricket.
“To set up the series – they call him the king – to get a hundred in the very first Test match, it’s a terrific signal for India and it’s ominous from an Australian point of view.”
Australia could only muster up six wickets as India set a mammoth total, declaring with just half an hour left to play and giving the home team a tough period to see out.
Unfortunately, the red-hot Bumrah wreaked havoc once again, taking the wickets of Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne to leave the Aussies reeling at 3-12.
The dismissal of Labuschagne in particular raised some eyebrows, especially after the No.3 batter opted to review a clear lbw despite not offering a shot.
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Labuschagne’s work with ball in hand also came under fire after the umpires warned him for negative bowling due to too many leg-side deliveries.
Test legend Adam Gilchrist was stunned by the usage of the part-timer, who switched from his short-pitched medium pace to leg-spin as India moved towards declaration.
“Have you ever seen such a despondent team of Australian cricketers, resorting to those tactics? What are deemed negative, illegal tactics by the rulebook,” he said.
English legend Michael Vaughan agreed with the former Aussie wicketkeeper.
“I’ve not seen that,” he said.
“I’m looking at this Australian side, they’re a terrific side, and for whatever reason they bowl out India for 150, then only bat well enough to only get 104, and then with the ball in hand they had periods where they bowled nicely.
“But that last half an hour is something I’ve not seen in Australia. Every boundary rider was on the fence, Labuschagne’s bowling around the wicket, he’s bowling negatively.”
The fragile batting order that was exposed in the first innings is already in trouble the second time around, with McSweeney and Labuschagne gone.
Across the board, day three was an absolute shambles and it’s impossible to take any positives from it from an Aussie perspective, with a humbling loss all but inevitable.
While the match isn’t officially done and dusted, social media was quick to react and cast doubt over Australia’s ability to bounce back in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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When play resumes on Monday, the next batter in is Steve Smith – a player struggling for form and clearly unable to deal with the awkward pace and height of Bumrah.
From there, it’s over to the big hitters Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh to try and salvage something from this clash, before the series heads to Adelaide.
To make matters worse, India has four superstars waiting in the wings.
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Shubman Gill is expected to return at some stage from a thumb injury, spin duo Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja should play a role, while captain Rohit Sharma will be back on deck for the second Test after missing this one due to personal reasons.
It’s a scary thought for Aussie fans, but there are still four games to make amends.