Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Australia got off to a steady start with their opening duo of Travis Head and Usman Khawaja adding 61 runs in less than 16 overs. However, Ravichandran Ashwin gave India their first breakthrough by dismissing Head on 32. Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne once again failed to impress and was clean bowled on just three by India’s experienced pacer Mohammed Shami making Australia score 72/2.
Coming on to bat at no. 4, Australian skipper Steve Smith made no mistake and took his time to get used to the pitch. Smith stitched 79 run partnership with Khawaja and was batting decently, but soon he fell prey to Ravindra Jadeja and had to go back to the pavilion on 38.
On the fourth ball of the 64th over, Jadeja bowled a straighter delivery to Smith, which the latter tried to play towards the off side with soft hands, but the red leather got an inside edge of the right-handed batter and went on to hit the stumps following the collision with the pads.
Jadeja seemed thrilled after the dismissal, while Smith was seen in disbelief.
Here’s the video:
ICYMI – #TeamIndia's delightful breakthrough!@imjadeja breaks the partnership to get Steve Smith out ??
Follow the matchhttps://t.co/8DPghkx0DE#INDvAUS | @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/lJVW7uzi9h
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 9, 2023
After the wicket of Smith, Shami struck once again to remove Peter Handscomb (17). On the other hand, Khawaja is still on the crease at a score of 104 for the visitors with Cameron Green (49) and the Aussie scoreboard until the stumps of Day 1 reads 255/4 in 90 overs.
Notably, the series decider at the Ahmedabad kickstarted with Prime Ministers of both countries, namely Mr. Narendra Modi and Mr. Anthony Albanese presenting the Test caps to both the skippers. PM Modi gave the cap to Indian captain Rohit Sharma, while Aussie leader Smith got presented with the baggy green by PM Albanese.
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