After being reduced to 2-2, Australia were provided a much-needed partnership when Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne came together for a fighting half-century stand on Day 1 of the Nagpur Test against India. Both batters fought gallantly against the Indian spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin. The three spinners combined to bowl 22 overs but went wicketless as Australia reached 76/2 at lunch on Day 1.
The Nagpur pitch which came under scrutiny even before the start of the Test match posed no demons as such barring a couple of instances. Off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja, one ball to Smith erupted from the rough and took off for byes, while there was a particular delivery from R Ashwin, that climbed on to Labuschagne. The Ashwin delivery, which was bowled in the 23rd over, was pitched full but as Labuschagne tried to defend it, the ball rocketed and struck him high on the batter's left thigh.
Also Read: India vs Australia Live Score, 1st Test Day 1
Immediately, Ashwin was up to his bag of tricks, gesturing to Labuschagne, almost warning him about the spin on offer. Ashwin, in an indirect message to Labuschagne, looked at wicketkeeper KS Bharat and signalled at him by rotating his index finger, trying to put the threat across the batter's mind. As Ashwin expected, he did grab Labuschagne's attention but the batter did not let the spinner settle down. He put his message forward too by replying to Ashwin with a few words.
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{{/usCountry}}This is Labuschagne's first Test match in India. The world's No. 1 ranked Test batter has been long preparing to bat in India and his first outing so far has been pretty impressive. At the end of the first session, Labuschagne was unbeaten on 47 off 110 balls, putting an unbeaten 74-run partnership with Smith. Although Smith was once out down by Virat Kohli at first slip, there wasn't a single lapse in concentration from Labuschagne. He struck eight boundaries – all nicely-timed and looked unshakeable. Ashwin, meanwhile, is one strike away from completing 450 wickets for India in Tests.
Labuschagne's gritty knock came to end shortly after lunch with Ravindra Jadeja striking twice in one over off back-to-back deliveries. Jadeja first had Labuschagne out stumped for 49 with Bharat pulling off a brilliant stumping and then dismissed Matthew Renshaw out LBW for a first-ball duck. The left-arm spinner went on to pick a five-wicket-haul while Ashwin grabbed three as Australia were bowled out for 177 in their first innings.