Border-Gavaskar Trophy First Test: India hammer Australia at Perth

[00:00:08] Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Edges & Sledges Cricket Podcast. We are coming to you live on YouTube. We have a full house, Varun, DJ and myself. I'm your host Ashwin. As India has just completed a historic win over the Australian Test side at Perth. Varun, let me throw it to you live because you have just gotten home off the back of watching the first three days of this incredible Test match. I mean, how great was that to be there live? We're going to get into all of it.

[00:00:38] But what an incredible match to get to go watch in person, right?

[00:00:42] Yeah, it's just too many emotions. I think as a Test match, this is definitely one of my best experiences that I've had. I live in Singapore, so that's not too far from Perth. So a few months ago, I just took a call and said, I have to do this, right? Because I haven't been for a match since 2019. I said, you know, with obviously a young baby and stuff, I said, I'm not going to get to South Africa and England anytime.

[00:01:08] But Perth is very doable. So I just took this call and, you know, it was on the back of a three zero whitewash at home. And I was not very hopeful. And then, you know, just a little bit about the journey. So we kind of landed in Perth.

[00:01:24] So my friend and I, we checked into this hotel, which I had booked, you know, given my personality, I'd booked many, many months ago. And as the taxi pulls up, we see a crowd there. And I'm like secretly thinking, wait a minute, this has happened before.

[00:01:38] DJ and I, I think we were in Southampton. I can't remember where. Nottingham.

[00:01:43] And we were like, yeah, we've seen players stay at a hotel and we've been opposite them. And as I get out of the taxi, Ravi Chandra and Ashwin is walking in.

[00:01:52] Right. And he was in shorts. And so immediately my friend and I like, shit, is he not playing? Why is he looking so casual?

[00:01:58] Then we said, you know, let's, let's move past. Let's not, let's not be those fans who try to, you know, swarm Ashwin and walked in.

[00:02:06] And Jess is in front of me at the reception desk checking in.

[00:02:10] And this, that's when I start going a bit crazy because I'm like, oh my God.

[00:02:16] And that, that's when it started. The next morning I woke up early, kind of went down for some fresh air and I see a big, huge bus parked there that said Indian cricket team.

[00:02:29] And I was like, oh my God, wait, not only are they staying at the hotel, I forgot that they're going to leave from the hotel in the team bus.

[00:02:38] And so then I just hung out downstairs for an hour and it was amazing. I saw everybody.

[00:02:42] Okay. I literally saw everybody from Gambhir to Mornemokkal to Siraj and Pant and Ashwin.

[00:02:50] And, and it was amazing scenes because at like, you know, the match is starting at 1020 and at 830, everyone starts coming from the coaches.

[00:03:01] 845, everyone in the team is there except one man.

[00:03:05] And at this point I'm getting nervous. I'm thinking, holy shit, do I need to call Kohli an Uber?

[00:03:10] Like how, how, how is he going to get to the stadium?

[00:03:12] And at 850, one man just appears in the doorway with his kit bag, his bat, and he just walks into the bus.

[00:03:21] Last guy, the biggest star of all. And it was just great.

[00:03:25] Like Kohli was the last guy on the bus. And like, that was the first morning for me.

[00:03:29] Just sorry. I went into a bit of detail.

[00:03:30] It is incredible. Actually, the video you sent us, Kohli walked out, he grabbed, he gave one kid an autograph.

[00:03:37] Yeah. One. Yeah. And then he moved on. So he did technically stop to give autographs, but also, you know, the Zodh the morning of a test.

[00:03:43] Anyway, go ahead.

[00:03:43] And so I, I have a daughter, right? And I was like, you know, this is my chance to get away from the kids and get a weekend just to myself with cricket.

[00:03:52] And then after seeing Kohli do that, I went in and I saw Anushka Sharma with her daughter.

[00:03:56] And I'm like, I have missed a trick because if I had brought my daughter, Kohli might have stopped in front of me.

[00:04:03] And maybe Anushka will ask me for like, is, is my daughter available for play date?

[00:04:06] So it's a good lesson for, for the next one.

[00:04:10] Take your kids along.

[00:04:12] Yeah. Definitely why you have kids is to get access to Kohli, right?

[00:04:16] That's the, that's the dream.

[00:04:17] Incredible. Just incredible scenes.

[00:04:19] I mean, I want to go through, DJ, I want to talk through the five wicket haul from Boomerang.

[00:04:25] The 17 wickets on the first day of a test wedge that, you know, we, you, we've, we've often reflected on this show about how we, if this was India,

[00:04:35] we've got all sorts of crap about the pitch quality to lose 17.

[00:04:39] But then the second day, more runs scored only three wickets.

[00:04:41] I want to get into all of that.

[00:04:43] Centuries for Kohli and Jaswal, et cetera.

[00:04:45] But as we look to relive this test match and go through it, we have to start with the selection.

[00:04:51] And we are coming off of the back of a zero three loss to New Zealand at home.

[00:04:56] All of the historic negatives that we felt at living that and got them come here as a skipper, as the captain with a new skipper in Boomerang.

[00:05:06] Just walk me through this, this 11, because you can sit here and say Nitish Reddy was a surprise.

[00:05:11] A little bit of a surprise.

[00:05:12] Washington Sundar over Ash and Jadeja.

[00:05:15] Padikal played three.

[00:05:16] Jarrell, which you weren't surprised by.

[00:05:18] But then there was a lot of new in this team at no point, at no point before the first ball was bold,

[00:05:23] was it like, yeah, this is going to be a competitive 11 against Stark, Cummins, Hazelwood, Lion, Labushen, Khwaja, Smith, Carey, Head.

[00:05:31] Like, anyway, walk me through the 11 before we get into the game.

[00:05:36] Yeah, I mean, I don't think any of us were really surprised that KL Rahul opened the batting, right?

[00:05:41] So I think that wasn't a surprise.

[00:05:44] Yasha Swijaiswal was, I think, as we discussed on the preview, the kind of mainstay of this ending batting lineup in the absence of Rohit and Shubman.

[00:05:52] And the lack of form of Virat before this test match as well.

[00:05:55] So three, I think, Dave, that Padikal came from probably nowhere to get a second test match.

[00:06:03] I think he's played one test against England, scored 65 in the sole innings he's played.

[00:06:07] As I said, I would have preferred Jarrell to go up to three and maybe have Ishwaran and Rahul.

[00:06:14] But look, that's the call they took.

[00:06:17] Padikal had scored some runs for the India A side, I think.

[00:06:20] I think he was probably top scorer in that India A unofficial tests that were played before this.

[00:06:28] But then we kind of knew Kohli would bat four, panth five, six.

[00:06:34] Jarrell had to play.

[00:06:35] He looked the best player amongst a lot.

[00:06:36] So no surprise there.

[00:06:38] And then, Ashwin, we discussed right last week, the Nathan Lyon record.

[00:06:42] There had to be one spinner that played and it would be an off spinner.

[00:06:46] So although it was odd that we hadn't played Jadeja, but remember, Jadeja didn't play the first test last time at Adelaide either.

[00:06:54] The day and night test match.

[00:06:55] So India is not, there's more a horses for courses type of policy there.

[00:07:00] And I think Ashwin would have been the logical choice.

[00:07:05] But given Washington's batting, I think that's what they went with.

[00:07:09] Although, to be fair, Ashwin has, what, six test hundreds now?

[00:07:14] And Washington's highest score is 96.

[00:07:16] Though Washington averages over 50 in test cricket, which is an insane stat.

[00:07:21] Think about it.

[00:07:22] So not surprising.

[00:07:23] I mean, it was probably a toss-up between Ashwin and Washington.

[00:07:27] Washington had played more recently.

[00:07:29] He bowled well against New Zealand.

[00:07:30] And the slight surprise for me was Harshit Rana.

[00:07:35] But then he has also got some batting chops, which I hadn't appreciated.

[00:07:40] He'd scored some runs domestically.

[00:07:42] We haven't really seen him bat in the IPL.

[00:07:44] And let's be clear, he's made his way here off the back of the KKR performance.

[00:07:48] Of course, Gambhir used to coach KKR to the IPL title.

[00:07:51] So there's that IPL test connection, which has always been a little bit strange and odd.

[00:07:57] But yeah, and then Siraj and Bumrah.

[00:08:00] So I would have thought perhaps Prasid or Akash could have got a look ahead.

[00:08:07] But I think their batting probably went against them there.

[00:08:10] India was very keen to extend their batting lineup.

[00:08:16] And yeah, not having Harshit probably demonstrated that.

[00:08:22] Farun, let me ask you then on the 11 before we get to the first morning of play, which was a lot happening.

[00:08:28] You and I were sort of messaging about this a little bit, right?

[00:08:30] Harshit Rana gives you the feels of...

[00:08:33] My parallel was Omesh Yadav, right?

[00:08:35] He gives you the feels.

[00:08:36] Part of it is their action, their intensity feels similar.

[00:08:38] But it gives you the feels of the guy who could be bowling...

[00:08:40] Who could be India's top three pick for quick bowlers at home for the next decade.

[00:08:46] Were you surprised by the pick on this wicket going into the first morning at Perth?

[00:08:51] I was.

[00:08:52] And exactly the same logic as DJ.

[00:08:54] I don't think this guy deserved a spot on the back of performances.

[00:08:59] If I read correctly somewhere, 10 Ranji games, I think, in his life.

[00:09:02] And I also read somewhere that the Indian think tank had a major disagreement with Gambhir on this, right?

[00:09:09] On Harshit Rana.

[00:09:10] So I don't know kind of what's the final call, who makes it.

[00:09:15] It has to be Gambhir.

[00:09:16] But Umrah has to buy into it as captain and leader of the base attack.

[00:09:20] I think a lot of work for Harshit Rana to do.

[00:09:25] But look, we've ended up on the right side of things.

[00:09:28] And so I can't fault him.

[00:09:30] But yes, what I would say is between Padikal, Jurel, Washington, Nitesh, and Harshit, this was like a weird team.

[00:09:41] And I was struggling with this on the first morning.

[00:09:43] Like, I really struggled with this.

[00:09:45] So let me...

[00:09:46] Really good segue.

[00:09:47] Let me ask you then, going into the morning.

[00:09:50] At Perth, India wins the toss.

[00:09:53] Bumrah.

[00:09:53] First off, great to see Bumrah out there as captain.

[00:09:55] He's done it once before.

[00:09:56] But man, he just looked like he belonged.

[00:09:59] Even some of the comments you're hearing now, by the way, is what he told Siraj and Harshit as the leader of the base attack.

[00:10:05] Was, don't get too distracted by the bounce.

[00:10:09] Be devastating when you're bowling.

[00:10:11] But be kind.

[00:10:12] You know, like there was a ball where Harshit hit Hazelwood on the helmet.

[00:10:14] And as much as they were smack talking the whole time, as soon as the helmet got hit, he ran over to check on him.

[00:10:19] And that's that intensity, but play tough, but fair kind of mindset.

[00:10:22] But anyway, I'm getting distracted.

[00:10:23] Bumrah walks out for the toss, Varun.

[00:10:25] You're in the ground at this point.

[00:10:27] Winston Chastuz is to bat.

[00:10:29] What is the reaction at that point?

[00:10:30] Because you can see conventional wisdom going both ways in Australia.

[00:10:34] And this is a relatively young new stadium, right?

[00:10:37] Perth has been the wacker for so long that...

[00:10:40] What was the thinking when India won the toss and chose to bat?

[00:10:44] Yeah, I think a lot of people are shocked in the crowd.

[00:10:47] Just because, you know, the way we've selected our team, we're batting till nine in a sense.

[00:10:52] We've batted really poorly in the last year or so, or last few months, I would say.

[00:10:56] And overseas hasn't done well.

[00:10:58] So the conventional thinking is that don't bat first.

[00:11:03] Don't put yourself in a situation where you're 80, 90, 100, 120 all out and be on the back foot from the first day.

[00:11:10] So I think it was shocking that what I read later, because remember, when you're in the ground, you don't pick up everything, right?

[00:11:16] What I read is that apparently Bumrah said the pitch is going to get faster.

[00:11:20] And I think that's why he chose to bat.

[00:11:23] But again, I think it worked out in India's favor, but, you know, we'll get into it.

[00:11:29] But 150 all out is not a great start.

[00:11:32] Yeah, all of these conversations are just exponentially easier to have when you're on the winning side, right?

[00:11:37] Everything looks like it goes wrong.

[00:11:39] And this is where we are fans of the game, but not the think tank and coaches, because the highs are so high, the lows are so low.

[00:11:45] And the think tank needs to be sitting here saying, what choices did we make wrong, even in a win, right?

[00:11:50] Because it's a five-match series.

[00:11:52] And although we have eliminated the possibility of 4-0 or 5-0, all the other, you know, potential results are still on the table.

[00:11:59] So not to be negative, but it is important to think through what worked and didn't.

[00:12:03] DJ.

[00:12:05] Jaswal and Rahul walk out to open.

[00:12:08] Jaswal gets out on his eighth delivery, third ball, or third over of the day.

[00:12:13] Mitchell Stark looks fiery.

[00:12:15] The ball looks like it's doing so much.

[00:12:18] Bounce is pretty, pretty, pretty good.

[00:12:20] But my goodness, it was moving.

[00:12:23] And Varun, this is one of those actually where maybe on TV we could tell more than you guys live in the stadium.

[00:12:28] But my goodness, laterally, the ball looked like it was moving a lot.

[00:12:32] DJ, at this point, it really did look like 150 all out was on the cards, right?

[00:12:36] In the first couple of overs, you realized this was going to be a nightmare session.

[00:12:40] Yeah, I mean, 150 at one point looked quite far away, to be honest.

[00:12:44] And we didn't really speak about the Nitish, I keep calling him Nitish Reddy selection.

[00:12:50] I mean, we have a Nitish Reddy and a Harshit Reddy.

[00:12:53] So you could...

[00:12:54] That's it.

[00:12:54] Maybe we should find a Harshit Reddy.

[00:12:56] Like seven and eight, right?

[00:12:58] No, but the Nitish Reddy selection actually, he scored 41.

[00:13:03] So he actually put us up to 150.

[00:13:05] But at one point, it did not look like we were going to get anywhere close to that.

[00:13:10] Yeah, nightmare start.

[00:13:12] Yasha Swijaiswal, first test match in Australia.

[00:13:15] The guy who's been in the most amount of form for Team India, even in the 3-0 loss to New Zealand, he did well.

[00:13:20] He scored all those runs against England.

[00:13:23] So it was a disaster start for him.

[00:13:27] We can talk about the batting.

[00:13:29] I mean, they didn't do a whole lot wrong.

[00:13:31] They didn't really throw away their wickets.

[00:13:33] There was bounce.

[00:13:33] There was seam.

[00:13:35] We should talk about that KL Rahul dismissal, though, because that really anchored me.

[00:13:39] I have to say, that was a really poor decision.

[00:13:42] I don't know what you guys think about that.

[00:13:43] Yeah, let's get into it.

[00:13:45] Varun, before we get to there first, though, because I keep asking you this perspective because I want to know what it was like in the crowd there.

[00:13:50] And we haven't actually debriefed on this before this episode or anything.

[00:13:54] We're hearing your point of view live.

[00:13:57] Particle comes and goes.

[00:13:58] Virat obviously comes and goes off of a Hazelwood delivery, which is just not ideal.

[00:14:04] He just doesn't seem in this moment, and he had a great second inning, so I can say this now, but I think I was messaging you saying he didn't seem willing to stick to his batting position and batting technique and his stance and get hit on the body if he needs to.

[00:14:18] Like when the ball is bouncing unexpectedly high, Pujara would have his bat where the ball should be, and the ball would come up and hit him on the arm, and he'd move on.

[00:14:27] Kohli followed a couple of times.

[00:14:29] It happened a couple of times.

[00:14:30] He almost got out earlier in his innings, and then he gets out.

[00:14:33] At this point, I think the score is like 30-40 on for three.

[00:14:37] And Rahul, it's not typical that we will talk about a knock where a guy ends on 26 runs with so many positives.

[00:14:47] So Varun, what was the feeling in the ground about Rahul's innings?

[00:14:50] And then we'll come to his dismissal.

[00:14:52] Because he looked like the only guy who knew how to negotiate these guys.

[00:14:56] He looked like, I mean, arguably, he's playing the format where strike rate really doesn't matter.

[00:15:01] He looked like he was willing to bat just forever at one point.

[00:15:05] How did that feel in the ground?

[00:15:07] Yeah, Rahul was exceptional, I think.

[00:15:11] Like just some of his cover dry, some of his defenses.

[00:15:15] Like it looked like a guy who was at ease, right, while the rest of the batting lineup was struggling.

[00:15:22] And then that's when we started digging up.

[00:15:24] And I think he's been playing for 10 years.

[00:15:26] And he's done this in Australia, England, South Africa.

[00:15:30] He scored 100 in Australia in 2014.

[00:15:32] He made his debut here.

[00:15:34] That's exactly what we were researching while he was batting.

[00:15:36] So he looked comfortable.

[00:15:38] He had a point to prove.

[00:15:40] Again, I was totally against him opening because now in the second test, he's not going to open.

[00:15:46] And I was just like, look, we all have a say on Kiel Rahul.

[00:15:50] He's become like a punching bag for almost everybody.

[00:15:53] But he is a good player.

[00:15:56] He has the talent.

[00:15:57] And I think you can't keep messing him up saying, you might bad at three.

[00:16:00] Now you might bad at opening.

[00:16:02] Now the next game, go back to six.

[00:16:04] It's tough, man.

[00:16:05] You just don't have a position.

[00:16:07] Sometimes you're keeping.

[00:16:08] Sometimes you're not.

[00:16:10] In South Africa, he's the main keeper.

[00:16:13] In Australia, he may not play the next game.

[00:16:15] It's just really hard.

[00:16:17] So credit to Kiel Rahul.

[00:16:19] Across both innings, he looked like the most solid batsman.

[00:16:22] I have to say that.

[00:16:24] Yeah.

[00:16:25] So now let's come to...

[00:16:26] Again, this was different on TV than in the ground, I'm sure.

[00:16:29] But I don't know what stream you guys had on Sakai or whatever it was.

[00:16:32] But the Willow stream, which is the US stream, sometimes when there's a boundary hit, they'll stop the freeze frame while the ball is about to hit the bat and then do a 360 degree full circle and show you.

[00:16:44] And it's unbelievable.

[00:16:46] And then this guy who's been betting for 73 balls after three wickets have come and gone, including Jesson, including Koli.

[00:16:56] There seem to be such a limited number of available camera angles to give, at least to show...

[00:17:01] Have we lost Ashwin?

[00:17:01] At least the ones to show us.

[00:17:02] Yeah, I think we might have lost Ashwin.

[00:17:05] Okay, now we can carry on.

[00:17:06] I mean, I think what he was going for is the Kiel Rahul dismissal, right?

[00:17:12] Koli went.

[00:17:13] Yeah, what did you think, DJ?

[00:17:14] Because on the ground...

[00:17:15] I thought you were...

[00:17:17] I couldn't tell anything on the ground.

[00:17:19] Then you started seeing the replays.

[00:17:20] But, you know, by that point, you've moved on.

[00:17:23] The next guy is coming.

[00:17:24] You're focused on the field.

[00:17:25] I just couldn't tell.

[00:17:27] Yeah, the challenge is, right?

[00:17:28] Like, you've given it not out on the field.

[00:17:30] So, the umpire's call has to be reversed only when you have conclusive evidence.

[00:17:36] Otherwise, to tell you that it's not...

[00:17:40] It is out.

[00:17:41] And so, when the third umpire asked for those angles and he got an angle from the back where there was a spike.

[00:17:47] But also, when you look from it in front, you can see he's hit his bat with his pad.

[00:17:52] Everything is all close together.

[00:17:54] So, to give it out conclusively and to change the decision, I thought was a shocking, shocking decision from the third umpire.

[00:18:01] I think it was Ray Lingworth there.

[00:18:03] And even Rob...

[00:18:04] Who was it?

[00:18:05] Who was the standing umpire who had given it out?

[00:18:08] I think probably Kettleborough, right?

[00:18:11] He had given it not out.

[00:18:12] And when it was reversed, he looked surprised.

[00:18:14] Kale Rahul was livid because there was no hotspot.

[00:18:18] There was no Snickle.

[00:18:19] There was Snickle, but there was no hotspot.

[00:18:21] And there seemed to be a bit of a mismatch as to when the ball passes the bat and when Snickle comes on, right?

[00:18:27] So, I think that really annoyed me because it was a very crucial point in the game as well.

[00:18:32] Kale Rahul had done all the hard work.

[00:18:34] We've just talked about how he's had a very tough career.

[00:18:37] He's played more than 50 test matches.

[00:18:38] Average is 30.

[00:18:39] He's the nearly man of Indian test cricket almost, right?

[00:18:42] Like, he's got so much talent.

[00:18:43] And you can see he's got the class.

[00:18:45] But he's just not gone on and converted it because he's been moved up and down the order.

[00:18:49] He's kept.

[00:18:50] He's opened.

[00:18:51] He's scored hundreds in.

[00:18:52] I think he's the third best opener overseas for India ever, which includes probably Gavaskar and Saeva.

[00:19:02] Yeah.

[00:19:03] So, he's got the most number of runs.

[00:19:05] There's some stat like that, which, I mean, it just makes you feel so bad for a guy there.

[00:19:09] Again, I was not in favor of him opening, right?

[00:19:11] But once he's done that, he's done the hard work in those conditions against those bowlers.

[00:19:15] For him to get out like that, I thought was an absolutely shocking decision.

[00:19:18] And he kept his cool in that whole thing pretty well.

[00:19:23] But honestly, the Kohli dismissal as well.

[00:19:26] Did you see how far down the pitch he was?

[00:19:28] Yeah, I did.

[00:19:29] What was that about?

[00:19:30] This is like the bounciest pitch you've ever played on.

[00:19:32] But Kohli's like trying to alpha the Perth bounce.

[00:19:35] It was a bit much.

[00:19:37] Yeah, I think it was just that, again, when Kohli was dealing with so much criticism and insecurity,

[00:19:44] and I haven't hit a test hundred in so long.

[00:19:46] And I just think he was trying too many different things.

[00:19:49] Yeah, he was trying to thinking he was playing in England.

[00:19:52] He was trying to negate the swing.

[00:19:53] But by the bounce was so high that he just couldn't get on top of it.

[00:19:58] Varun, Washington Sundar, Rishabh Pant.

[00:20:01] I think it was fitting because it's like the KL Rahul dismissal itself.

[00:20:04] Yeah, technology just failed when we needed it most, right?

[00:20:07] Absolutely.

[00:20:08] I'm not sure if the umpires would think technology failed.

[00:20:11] I don't know what you guys talked.

[00:20:11] I'm not actually 100% convinced that it didn't hit that.

[00:20:15] I'm just not convinced it did.

[00:20:17] Like there was no way to know for sure.

[00:20:18] That's my point of view.

[00:20:20] Varun, the end of this first innings, right?

[00:20:23] Walk me through kind of, DJ said at one point 150 looked nearly impossible.

[00:20:27] And then Nithish Reddy came out.

[00:20:29] And with Rishabh Pant, they obviously came to terms of the fact that, listen,

[00:20:32] it looks like it's going to be really difficult to score.

[00:20:35] It was 73 when Sundar got out and I think Reddy walked in.

[00:20:39] And these guys just said, let's play a bit like a T20,

[00:20:41] even though the boundaries just appeared massive, like absolutely massive on TV.

[00:20:47] They kept hitting balls that in most stadiums looked like they would go for four.

[00:20:51] And they just rolled and sometimes it would stop inside the boundary and then have to run three.

[00:20:56] I mean, how did these guys come and add up, add the 50 odd they did for the eighth wicket, seventh wicket?

[00:21:02] So, okay, a few quick points because there's so much.

[00:21:04] First, I have to call out saying Pat Cummins rotated the bowlers beautifully in the first 25 overs.

[00:21:10] They pulled, I think, 25 odd overs with just their three pacers, right?

[00:21:15] And that happens only when you rotate.

[00:21:17] So we were watching this and we were like, wow, this is a masterclass on how to plan the bowling.

[00:21:22] Second, the problem is though, these guys run in so hard that they need a break, right?

[00:21:28] And I think the minute Nathan Lyon came on, Nithish Reddy realized, listen, it's now or never, right?

[00:21:35] I just have to use my feet, get to the pitch of the ball and smack this.

[00:21:39] And that's what he did.

[00:21:40] So kudos to him there because that was the difference between being 100 all out and 150 all out.

[00:21:44] And then the last thing I just have to mention is that audacious, ridiculous shot of Rishabh Pant.

[00:21:51] I mean, we were watching that.

[00:21:52] We jumped out of our seats.

[00:21:53] The Aussies behind us had to ask us to sit down, but like literally, like, I don't know what that shot was.

[00:22:00] He did off the ground, did a somersault on the ground.

[00:22:04] I'm hoping he was coughing.

[00:22:05] I couldn't see that in the ground.

[00:22:07] I'm hoping he was coughing while he fell to the floor.

[00:22:09] But that was just spectacular.

[00:22:12] Pant did look the most comfortable.

[00:22:14] And I do have to also say that, you know, Sundar also looked like, Sundar looks like a better batsman to me out of the three spinning options.

[00:22:22] And I think that's why they're picking him.

[00:22:24] And then lastly, Harshit Rana also looked decent, just didn't have enough time there.

[00:22:28] But he got out to such a magnificent catch.

[00:22:31] Like, I was standing behind slips and I saw that happen in real time where it hit Nathan McSweeby.

[00:22:36] And then LaMushin has picked it up.

[00:22:38] Like, just great, right?

[00:22:40] But basically, the innings has ended.

[00:22:43] India is 150 all out.

[00:22:45] My friend and I are like, this is a shit show.

[00:22:48] Why have we come here?

[00:22:49] So we decided to go around the walk of the stadium.

[00:22:52] We did a walk of the entire stadium to check out the menu of all different food items.

[00:22:57] Because he said, if we're going to spend three days here, we better know what we're going to be eating and drinking.

[00:23:01] So we had totally given up hope.

[00:23:04] Right.

[00:23:05] I think that's a good time for us to take a very quick break.

[00:23:07] We'll take a quick break.

[00:23:08] We'll come back, talk about the rest of the test match.

[00:23:10] And don't go anywhere.

[00:23:11] This is the Edges and Sledges Cricket Podcast.

[00:23:22] Welcome back to the Edges and Sledges Cricket Podcast.

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[00:23:42] Varun, you mentioned this, right?

[00:23:43] So 150 all out on day one of a test.

[00:23:46] And I think it was before tea even at this point.

[00:23:50] And Australia has to come into bat.

[00:23:52] They're licking their chops.

[00:23:54] Yes, it is very tough conditions.

[00:23:56] Ended up being 67 for 7 at the end of the day.

[00:23:59] I mean, I just jumped right ahead.

[00:24:01] But McSweeney has to phase.

[00:24:04] He was on his debut, right?

[00:24:05] I don't remember having seen him before.

[00:24:08] Is that correct?

[00:24:09] Yeah, he was on his test debut.

[00:24:11] But he's actually a middle order batsman opening.

[00:24:13] So get sent up the order because Steve Smith wants to play at four.

[00:24:18] And has to face Jaspreet Pumrah.

[00:24:20] The fiery Jaspreet Pumrah spell that started this.

[00:24:24] I mean, ended up picking four by the end of the day.

[00:24:27] I'm not even going to go through all of the wickets and stuff.

[00:24:30] Except maybe the golden duck for Stephen Smith.

[00:24:33] The Steve Smith?

[00:24:34] Because that was just absolutely magnificent.

[00:24:38] Skwaja has just gotten out.

[00:24:41] Did you hear the punt comment when Steve Smith came in?

[00:24:45] No.

[00:24:46] He's like, so Barun, you would have missed it.

[00:24:48] But Punt, when Steve Smith comes in, he's like, lots of pressure here on the legend.

[00:24:54] In that 30 seconds while Steve Smith is marking his guard.

[00:24:59] Oh my God.

[00:25:01] Punt has had a go at him.

[00:25:02] And yeah, it was great.

[00:25:03] And Steve Smith, who has sort of built his career on shuffling around at the crease and unsettling

[00:25:09] bowlers, shuffles across the leg stump.

[00:25:11] And then the ball keeps low and just darts back in and gets wrapped absolutely plumb, like

[00:25:17] would have hit bottom or middle stump.

[00:25:20] And walks off the pitch.

[00:25:21] And Varun, at this point you're thinking, wait a minute, we only have 150 on the board.

[00:25:25] It's 19 for three.

[00:25:27] Mumra has picked up all three of the first three wickets.

[00:25:30] As long as there's one good spell from the other end, it looks like we have a good shot,

[00:25:36] right?

[00:25:36] I mean, Mumra just looked like he was bowling on a different surface for those first couple,

[00:25:40] we'll call it that first hour, than anybody else.

[00:25:45] Yeah.

[00:25:46] I mean, the thing is, Mumra is, I think, as I was reading about this later, right?

[00:25:53] I put two and two together.

[00:25:54] I think Mumra bowled like five to seven centimeters ahead of where the Australians were bowling.

[00:26:00] And that gave him the edge with those LBWs, right?

[00:26:03] So again, Mumra is just such a smart bowler.

[00:26:06] Like he knows what's going on.

[00:26:08] He knows the pitch.

[00:26:09] He knows the conditions.

[00:26:10] He just pushed it five CM extra and he got those wickets.

[00:26:14] Now, at the same time, I also want to call out that Siraj, who has the biggest heart,

[00:26:20] just didn't figure that out.

[00:26:21] So Siraj was completely ineffective on that day.

[00:26:24] He was not able to do it.

[00:26:26] I think after three overs, like we were like to get Siraj off and Mumra did exactly that.

[00:26:31] Now, the difference is that Harshit Rana, being the debutant, he was just listening to

[00:26:36] Mumra.

[00:26:36] Like if Mumra told him, bowl it here, Harshit Rana bowl it there.

[00:26:39] That's it.

[00:26:40] He didn't do anything on his own.

[00:26:42] Mumra just told him what to do.

[00:26:44] And man, that delivery to head was like the Mitchell Stark IPL delivery.

[00:26:49] Just moved just that slight enough to miss the bat and take the off-stump.

[00:26:55] That was a brilliant deal.

[00:26:56] There's something special about your first ever test wicket also being bold.

[00:27:01] I mean, it just seems like a cliche, but it was just so good.

[00:27:05] And to a guy who's basically hammered India in the last two years, right?

[00:27:10] So yeah.

[00:27:12] So basically message there for me was Siraj was not following instructions.

[00:27:16] Harshit Rana was following it.

[00:27:18] But yeah.

[00:27:18] Yeah.

[00:27:18] Stunning.

[00:27:19] I mean, that debut, the first wicket on your debut to get it pulled off of Travis Head was absolutely stunning.

[00:27:26] So the day ended 67 for 7.

[00:27:28] DJ, you want to have anything to add before we get to day 2?

[00:27:31] Yeah.

[00:27:32] Siraj may not have been following Mumra's instructions, but he followed Kohli's instructions to get Manas.

[00:27:37] Did you see Kohli directing traffic on that?

[00:27:40] Yeah.

[00:27:41] Kohli, by the way, was like on another level in this match.

[00:27:44] I don't know if it was because Rohit was missing.

[00:27:46] I don't know if it was because it was Australia.

[00:27:48] You're causing controversy.

[00:27:50] This guy was...

[00:27:52] I haven't seen Kohli like this in a while.

[00:27:55] Yeah.

[00:27:56] After the disaster of the New Zealand test match and the runout and stuff,

[00:27:59] I think he felt like he had a point to prove.

[00:28:01] And he missed the last series win.

[00:28:04] The Gabaka Ghamand win.

[00:28:05] He was not there after the first test, right?

[00:28:07] So he's pumped up for this.

[00:28:09] He was jumping everywhere.

[00:28:10] He dropped a catch as well and then took a catch.

[00:28:13] Let's not forget, he had a pretty bad first day.

[00:28:15] But then by the end of it, I think he was feeling a bit better about himself.

[00:28:20] But man, the Indian bowlers, we should also talk about this, right?

[00:28:24] Like if we had dragged the first day out to 250 or 260 or 270, right?

[00:28:30] And struggled and played a great knock.

[00:28:33] Then you wouldn't have had that grass covering to do that to the Australian bowlers.

[00:28:39] So often we're very critical of the Indian batting.

[00:28:42] And suddenly the pitch looks like a different pitch when the other team bats.

[00:28:45] It literally was a different pitch on day two, right?

[00:28:49] Where only three wickets fell.

[00:28:50] But we should come to that.

[00:28:51] But I think it was surreal how the nature of that pitch also changed.

[00:28:55] So getting out for 150 almost played into our hands.

[00:29:00] And the fact that we could use those green seeming conditions was actually advantageous

[00:29:05] to the Indian cricket team and the bowlers to be able to reduce Australia to 67 for 7.

[00:29:10] Because we saw then in day two how the pitch played, right?

[00:29:13] It did.

[00:29:14] No question about it.

[00:29:15] But we chose to bet, right?

[00:29:17] So there's an element of the fact that we won the toss, chose to go in and bat first.

[00:29:21] And now we're saying, yes, we got tough conditions.

[00:29:25] But we also got to bowl in the tough conditions, etc.

[00:29:27] So I understand the point you're trying to make.

[00:29:29] I think there's an element also, which we'll talk about maybe at the end.

[00:29:32] As I sit back and look at this test, our bowlers took 20 wickets.

[00:29:36] Bumrah was phenomenal.

[00:29:37] But they have been this good for a while, right?

[00:29:40] And so you have to give full credit to the bowlers.

[00:29:43] The difference was our top order didn't do anything really of note in the last couple of years.

[00:29:48] And when they finally showed up, the bowlers' ability to win test matches showed up.

[00:29:52] That's the kind of oversimplification of this.

[00:29:55] But Varun, let's wrap up then.

[00:29:58] The first innings for Australia, 67 for 7 as they go off at the end of day one.

[00:30:02] And you're thinking, as the Aussies are thinking, we've got some serious work to do.

[00:30:07] You come on the next morning, and it's a little bit of a different energy, right?

[00:30:11] It looks like the ball isn't doing quite as much.

[00:30:14] Yes, Alex Carey gets out quickly.

[00:30:16] But then Stark and Hazelwood, I guess it was, Stark essentially bats out over 100 deliveries.

[00:30:23] I was watching this when it was nine down, and he just kept playing and playing.

[00:30:28] And there was a little bit of smack talk between him and Rana and things like that.

[00:30:33] But I mean, what was going through your head in the ground at this point?

[00:30:36] You're saying, what happened? How's the number nine batter batting over 100 balls when the other 17 guys could barely survive?

[00:30:44] Yeah, so it was very clear, very quickly, that this is a different pitch, right?

[00:30:49] And the only thing going through my mind is, how dumb is Alex Carey, right?

[00:30:53] He basically must have spent the whole night thinking, how am I going to tackle Bobra?

[00:30:58] How am I going to tackle Bobra?

[00:30:59] Then he comes, plays the first ball of a moment, gets out.

[00:31:01] Like, I think, like, seriously, Alex Carey, that was the dumbest thing that I saw, that he got out of the first ball.

[00:31:09] Now, DJ, what happened to the pitch?

[00:31:11] Because I'll tell you a little bit about the weather, but I don't know if that correlates, right?

[00:31:15] So on Thursday and Friday when I was there, I was wearing a jacket after 5 p.m., right?

[00:31:22] And on Saturday morning, we didn't carry a jacket to the stadium.

[00:31:27] We walked to the stadium.

[00:31:28] We were sweating on the way there.

[00:31:30] When it's 32 degrees in Perth, I'm not kidding you, it feels like it was 42 degrees in Dubai or Delhi.

[00:31:38] The sun was so strong that, I mean, it was sad, but a lady actually passed out in the stadium.

[00:31:46] And there were paramedics there to help.

[00:31:50] That's how hot it was.

[00:31:51] Now, DJ, is that what happened to the pitch or was it something else?

[00:31:55] Because to us, like, that level of heat just felt like it sucked all the moisture out of the pitch.

[00:32:02] Yeah, it was actually that.

[00:32:03] I think they'd left more grass on the pitch to make sure it didn't crack up too early because of the heat.

[00:32:09] That was what the curator had actually gone and done.

[00:32:12] This is not a drop-in pitch like the MCG, the SCG and stuff.

[00:32:15] Like the WACA, this is similar soil.

[00:32:18] It's a homegrown pitch.

[00:32:20] And they had actually left grass in to bind the pitch so that it lasted more and got better to bat on as the game got on.

[00:32:28] And the cracks that would usually come in day 3-4, they would come a bit later in the game.

[00:32:33] But if you just have to look at the two pictures of the day 1 pitch and the picture of the day 2 pitch side by side,

[00:32:40] and one is green and looks like a pitch in England, and the next day it's brown.

[00:32:44] It looks like a pitch in India or Australia.

[00:32:48] I mean, like the classic pitch.

[00:32:49] So that grass has literally dried in a day's time.

[00:32:54] And that's what brought the change to the seam movement, which on day 1 was, I think, an average of 0.8 degrees,

[00:33:02] which is absolutely insane, apparently.

[00:33:04] That completely dropped off.

[00:33:06] Let's not forget, we should give credit to the Indian bowlers.

[00:33:09] Their lengths, and I think Varun, you mentioned this briefly, their lengths were impeccable.

[00:33:13] We got LBWs.

[00:33:15] And that shows how far we were pitching the ball up.

[00:33:18] Bumrah was getting the ball to skid.

[00:33:20] You were not getting carried away by the bounce and seeing Koli make off the second slip.

[00:33:24] Of Hazelwood and stuff.

[00:33:26] They pitched the ball up.

[00:33:28] And, I mean, they took advantage of day 1.

[00:33:30] They struggled a little bit on day 2 to take those final three wickets.

[00:33:34] Of course, Cary nicked off early.

[00:33:36] But even Lyon, he took time out of the game.

[00:33:41] Mitch Stark, who's not, I mean, not the world's greatest batsman.

[00:33:44] He can hold a bat.

[00:33:45] But, yeah.

[00:33:46] So, the pitch changed dramatically.

[00:33:49] And it would have been, going back to what I was saying,

[00:33:52] often we used to see this previously.

[00:33:54] And we were like, oh, our bowlers are bad.

[00:33:56] Or our batters don't know how to play.

[00:33:58] But it was like seeing a totally different game on day 2.

[00:34:01] It was incredible.

[00:34:02] There was still a bit of help.

[00:34:04] Let's not say that there wasn't.

[00:34:06] But it wasn't as dramatic or drastic as day 1.

[00:34:09] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:34:10] And that became evident where we were on 46th run lead at the end of the first innings

[00:34:15] in a test match in Australia.

[00:34:17] And it was before, it was just about, just after lunch, I guess, on day 2.

[00:34:23] And you're thinking, man, is my day 3 ticket even going to be worth anything at this point?

[00:34:27] I've paid for the third day.

[00:34:29] We may not be coming back.

[00:34:30] And then, it's almost as though it felt like the skies parted and a new game sort of began.

[00:34:37] Because Jaswal and Rahul walked out.

[00:34:39] And at one point, I had this long list in front of me.

[00:34:43] But the first ever, or first in 20 years, that's the first century partnership by an opening pair

[00:34:51] for India and Australia in 20 years.

[00:34:54] The last time this was done in 2004.

[00:34:56] It ended up becoming India's highest ever opening partnership in Australia.

[00:35:00] I mean, just the records keep going and going.

[00:35:02] And you sit here thinking, Rahul is very, very unfortunate to miss out on

[00:35:07] what would have been a well-deserved century.

[00:35:09] But walk me through that opening partnership from the stands

[00:35:12] and being able to go off the field on day 2 without having lost a single wicket.

[00:35:17] I mean, that was just, that just completely felt like the momentum had shifted in the game, right?

[00:35:22] Yeah, and again, it comes down to that weather factor, right?

[00:35:25] After lunch came out, everyone in the stadium is saying,

[00:35:28] oh, I wouldn't want to be standing out there right now.

[00:35:31] And you've got 11 Aussies standing there who know that they're going to be up for,

[00:35:36] like, a huge task, right?

[00:35:39] It was hot.

[00:35:42] The pitch was such that the base bowlers had to keep going.

[00:35:46] And I think Jaswal and Rahul were just patient, right?

[00:35:50] We talk about this in England and Australia and South Africa.

[00:35:53] Give the first hour to the bowlers.

[00:35:54] After that, the runs will come.

[00:35:56] I think they did just that.

[00:35:59] Rahul, I think, actually had a lot of the momentum at the start.

[00:36:04] Jaswal, I feel, was a little more shaky.

[00:36:05] But as Jaswal settled in, he didn't miss the opportunity to get the boundaries.

[00:36:10] He was the one who then got the scoreboard kind of ticking at a good pace,

[00:36:15] which allowed Rahul to relax a little bit and just play at his own kind of standard and pace.

[00:36:20] And they just took the game away from the Aussies.

[00:36:23] Like, their shoulders were drooping.

[00:36:25] The stands were quiet.

[00:36:26] By the end of that day, like, it was pretty evident that, you know,

[00:36:32] this is going to be very hard to come back from.

[00:36:34] Yeah.

[00:36:35] So Jaswal ends up getting a century.

[00:36:37] Rahul comes out the next day.

[00:36:39] Tough.

[00:36:40] Tough to see him go.

[00:36:42] But, you know, 77.

[00:36:44] Batted out 176 balls.

[00:36:45] Awesome knock.

[00:36:47] DJ, a couple of thoughts.

[00:36:48] A couple of questions for you.

[00:36:49] First off, Jaswal doesn't seem to like making between 100 and 150 runs.

[00:36:54] Every time in his test career he's crossed 100, he has also crossed 150.

[00:36:58] Which is just, I mean, there's an element of being that Mumbai cricketer

[00:37:01] who goes on to make 300, 400 just for fun individually.

[00:37:05] So an incredible knock.

[00:37:06] But then I realized by the time he got out, we had batted, call it over 90 overs.

[00:37:15] So call it 550 odd deliveries for the first two wickets.

[00:37:19] And then when Jaswal gets out between his, Rishabhs, and Jarrell's,

[00:37:24] in the next 16 balls, we lost three wickets.

[00:37:26] And suddenly you're thinking, wait a minute, has the pitch gotten bad again?

[00:37:29] Of course, punts was nothing to do with the pitch, punts dismissal.

[00:37:33] But at this point you're thinking, wait a minute, we were going to bat Australia

[00:37:37] out of the game.

[00:37:37] We were going to try to make 500 plus.

[00:37:40] And not that you necessarily needed it, but are you suddenly worried about a

[00:37:44] collapse again at this point?

[00:37:45] Before, of course, the magic happened, which we'll talk about next?

[00:37:50] A little bit.

[00:37:51] Because, I mean, obviously you put on 200 for no loss to start.

[00:37:56] We got pretty used in particle, got a few runs.

[00:38:00] And then we had the rather strange punts dismissal.

[00:38:04] And Yasha Sui hit one straight point.

[00:38:07] I mean, we should talk about the Yasha Sui innings in a bit more detail,

[00:38:10] because I think we've glossed over 161, which was a fair contender for a

[00:38:15] man-of-the-match performance.

[00:38:17] I mean, incredible denial at the beginning, right?

[00:38:20] Like, I don't know, Varun, he may have been pretty bored on day three watching.

[00:38:22] He left, like, a lot of balls.

[00:38:25] But the discipline for a young man of 22 to come back and, I mean, he got a duck

[00:38:31] in his first knock, going after the bowling.

[00:38:34] And he just reined himself in and he just did what needed to be done.

[00:38:38] He told Mitchell Stark that the ball was coming on too slowly to take revenge

[00:38:42] for his friend, Harship.

[00:38:45] But for a 22-year-old, did they say that to Mitchell Stark at birth?

[00:38:49] I mean, what confidence do you have to have?

[00:38:52] He had a bit of fun with Manas Labashen when he was faking the throw and he

[00:38:57] pretended to, like, be outside his crease.

[00:39:00] He's a 22-year-old.

[00:39:01] He's got such talent.

[00:39:03] They were talking about his backstory on television as well.

[00:39:06] Yes, he got out badly.

[00:39:07] But how did he went to his 100 with a ramp shot for six, which I think,

[00:39:11] Ashwin, had you falling off your chair.

[00:39:12] And, I mean, that was a knock for the ages.

[00:39:17] It's the...

[00:39:18] I think he's only the...

[00:39:20] He's got the eighth highest score in test history after scoring a duck in the first innings.

[00:39:25] Do you know who his predecessors are at Centurions at Perth?

[00:39:31] Any guesses?

[00:39:32] Of course.

[00:39:33] Sachin.

[00:39:33] There's Sachin, Virat Kohli.

[00:39:36] And I think Sunny, right?

[00:39:38] And Sunil Gavaskar.

[00:39:40] Yep, that's it.

[00:39:41] I mean, what a lineup, man.

[00:39:43] So, the greatest batsmen in each of their eras have scored a century at Perth.

[00:39:48] And Kohli is now officially better than Bradman, as we'll talk about later,

[00:39:51] because he's got 30 test centuries and Bradman only had 29, right?

[00:39:55] But, I mean, it was a knock which changed the complexion of the game.

[00:40:01] Yes, Bumbra took man of the match, as we'll talk about.

[00:40:04] Yes, he bowled...

[00:40:06] Bumbra brought us back into the game.

[00:40:07] But for a 22-year-old, what a year he's had.

[00:40:10] 2024 has been the year of Yeshessi Jaiswal.

[00:40:13] If he doesn't win the ICC awards this year,

[00:40:15] I mean, there's something really wrong with that whole situation.

[00:40:20] He's got the most number of sixes by a distance in any year.

[00:40:23] I think he's got 35.

[00:40:25] He, he's just, I mean, I was, I think I was saying a couple of episodes ago,

[00:40:30] he's actually the real contender for the Indian captaincy in a few years for me.

[00:40:34] I think Gil, Gil will struggle to hold him off.

[00:40:37] There's going to be a Kohli Rohit situation going on there as well in a few years,

[00:40:41] which is good for Indian cricket, I guess.

[00:40:43] But...

[00:40:44] I love that prediction.

[00:40:45] I love the, I love the fire that came from Jaiswal too.

[00:40:48] And I'm not, I wasn't, I'm not undermining the importance of this entry, right?

[00:40:51] I, it was just, it was absolutely phenomenal to watch.

[00:40:55] And there was a, there was a moment where they showed a clip, by the way,

[00:40:58] of Sachin hitting a ramp shot over the keeper's head for six in Australia many,

[00:41:03] many years ago.

[00:41:04] And it just, it just, and he was on 95 at this point, right?

[00:41:09] 94, 95.

[00:41:10] I mean, just an absolutely stunning knock with no, no fear, but yet incredible amounts of

[00:41:15] discipline.

[00:41:16] We often equate no fear with that Rishabh Panthes cricket where on the fourth ball of your

[00:41:20] knock, you would dance down the track.

[00:41:21] And yes, it comes with very high highs, but it looks awful when it goes wrong.

[00:41:25] And Jaiswal played fearless, but very, very disciplined cricket.

[00:41:28] And I think of it as a very different brand.

[00:41:32] Right.

[00:41:32] Varun, let me ask you then.

[00:41:33] Yeah.

[00:41:34] We celebrate.

[00:41:34] And it's probably the hardest job in cricket right now, opening the batting against Australia.

[00:41:38] Yeah.

[00:41:38] Absolutely.

[00:41:39] In Perth.

[00:41:40] Varun, Jaiswal out, Rahul out, particles out.

[00:41:45] Kohli is batting on the other end patiently.

[00:41:47] And Rishabh comes and goes, Jarell comes and goes.

[00:41:50] And as Sundar walks in, what is your, what is your feeling at this point?

[00:41:54] Because by this point, I think Kohli was 20 odd runs, but looking exceptional, looking

[00:41:59] very solid, which I'm probably biased as a fan of the guy, but he looked really good

[00:42:03] out there in his early, in the early stage of his innings, having not performed in the

[00:42:07] first innings.

[00:42:08] What are you thinking at this point?

[00:42:09] There's no real prediction that he's going to keep going.

[00:42:12] At this point, we probably arguably had enough runs that you could have declared

[00:42:16] sooner, but no boomerang was going to declare while Kohli was still out there.

[00:42:19] What was the feeling in the field?

[00:42:21] I mean, what was my feeling?

[00:42:23] Like, I think this is my fifth or sixth Kohli century that I've seen live.

[00:42:26] So when Kohli was at 20, I was like, this is it.

[00:42:30] Like this, I am here.

[00:42:31] Kohli is here.

[00:42:32] This is going to be a century.

[00:42:34] You need to make watching cricket a full-time job, Varun.

[00:42:38] Seriously, man.

[00:42:39] Just watch cricket.

[00:42:39] I have just followed this team for the last 10 years.

[00:42:44] And yeah, I was like, I had no doubt that this is going to be special.

[00:42:47] But I thought, you know, time may run out.

[00:42:51] Partners may run out.

[00:42:52] I, you know, Kohli was looking great.

[00:42:55] And then, you know, again, I'm saying this for the second time.

[00:42:57] Sundar was also looking great.

[00:42:59] Like you've got to see this guy's defense and stuff like in person.

[00:43:04] He was looking very, very solid.

[00:43:07] So I think they just, I think the feeling in the ground as we were chatting with everyone

[00:43:13] around us is that you probably just want to get to 450, including the lead, right?

[00:43:18] That's all you wanted to get to.

[00:43:20] And I think when Sundar had got out, it was still not at 450.

[00:43:25] And, you know, that's when Nitesh came in.

[00:43:27] And man, again, I have to say that Nitesh looked also very good and very comfortable.

[00:43:34] Now, what happened at that point once Nitesh started looking comfortable and Kohli was in

[00:43:40] his groove is that I think the baseballers just put their hand up and said, that's it.

[00:43:46] We have been bowling too long.

[00:43:49] I think Mitch Stark had been on the field for almost three days straight at that point.

[00:43:54] And I think they just put their hand up and said, we're not doing this, right?

[00:43:57] And then you had local boy Mitch Marsh putting the overs in, who by the way is called Bison

[00:44:03] and the crowd went crazy chanting Bison, Bison.

[00:44:06] They had Nathan Lyon.

[00:44:07] And then the most ridiculous was Manus Labashier.

[00:44:11] I'm not even kidding you, okay?

[00:44:15] He's bowling bouncers.

[00:44:17] He's bowling negative line.

[00:44:19] I think the Aussies in the crowd were just embarrassed.

[00:44:22] Like they were looking like with their head down when Labashier just kept getting over

[00:44:27] after over after over.

[00:44:29] And to be fair, they spread the field and Nitesh and Kohli still managed to find the boundary.

[00:44:33] So, I mean, I have to say Labashier bowled really, really shit.

[00:44:38] And I think now I called him out on it.

[00:44:39] Yeah, but what is up with that?

[00:44:40] It's so poor.

[00:44:42] I mean, like he came on in the 23rd over in the second innings, which was shocking.

[00:44:47] Like the ball is relatively new.

[00:44:48] The game is still alive.

[00:44:49] Dave, why are you bowling Manus Labashier in this weird action?

[00:44:52] Surprisingly, he bowled 130 plus.

[00:44:55] That surprised me.

[00:44:56] Yeah, but guys, it was 132 and he was saying I'm going to get to...

[00:45:00] Sorry, this seems like there's a little bit of an internet I'd like still.

[00:45:03] But Stark had bowled 34 overs at this point by day three of a test.

[00:45:07] 37 overs, excuse me.

[00:45:08] Hazelwood had bowled 34.

[00:45:11] Cummins had bowled 40 overs.

[00:45:13] Like this is still day three of a test.

[00:45:15] You cannot put that kind of workload on your quicks in a five-match series.

[00:45:19] They have to...

[00:45:20] So, I think India batted them to the point where they had to make the stupid Labashier decision.

[00:45:25] Which is, I mean, it's full credit is my point.

[00:45:28] They had no other option.

[00:45:29] No, but Labashier, when he first came on, when Labashier first came on,

[00:45:33] it was only 23 overs into the second inning.

[00:45:35] So, they hadn't bowled that much because they'd been bowled out for 150 in the first innings, right?

[00:45:39] Yes, when he came on later, that was just like declaration bowling basically.

[00:45:43] And they feasted on it.

[00:45:45] But the whole ridiculous thing is you've got Mitchell Marsh, you've got these four fast bowlers.

[00:45:50] What are you doing?

[00:45:51] What kind of captaincy is that?

[00:45:52] I think Pat Cummins had a shocker, man.

[00:45:55] Both with the ball as well as captain.

[00:45:57] It was not good.

[00:45:59] It felt like it was trying to be too funky.

[00:46:01] Walk me through then.

[00:46:03] So, at the end of kind of the second innings for India, right?

[00:46:05] And how it ended, again, you could see Bumrah at one point started to...

[00:46:10] He was padded up.

[00:46:10] He started to take off the gear a little bit.

[00:46:12] So, you're saying, okay, cool.

[00:46:13] Bumrah is not going to walk out at number eight.

[00:46:17] Nitish is just going gangbusters.

[00:46:20] Virat Kohli, I think he was on 92 at this point, or 91 on...

[00:46:24] Hits a reverse sweep off of Nathan Lyon.

[00:46:26] I cannot remember the last time I saw Virat hit a reverse sweep.

[00:46:31] Even David Warder, I think, with the commentary box was like,

[00:46:33] that's the kind of shot I hit.

[00:46:34] That's not the kind of shot Virat normally hits.

[00:46:37] Hits a reverse sweep off Lyon.

[00:46:38] And then, Labushen, our man is bowling.

[00:46:42] Bowls this like ball down the leg side.

[00:46:44] Virat gets down and sweeps it so hard.

[00:46:47] He just hit with what felt like all of his anger.

[00:46:50] He swept it so hard.

[00:46:51] And it rolls away to the boundary.

[00:46:53] And I don't know exactly what was happening because he wasn't sure if it was a boundary.

[00:46:56] Or I think he thought it was a boundary.

[00:46:57] But he was on 95.

[00:47:00] Just walk me through those seeds from the ground really quick.

[00:47:03] Yeah.

[00:47:03] So, I mean, once he got on 91, I got off my chair.

[00:47:06] I went down.

[00:47:06] I was like, I need to record this.

[00:47:08] This is the big moment.

[00:47:09] And then he kind of went a little bit slow for a little bit.

[00:47:14] Like a small period, right?

[00:47:15] And you could see that everyone in the dressing room was ready for the declaration.

[00:47:19] You could see that everyone on the ground was ready for the declaration.

[00:47:22] I think Kohli was like, man, I'm going to get criticized again.

[00:47:26] And that's when the reverse sweep kind of came out.

[00:47:29] And it just, I think there was just a little bit of pressure that he had to get there quickly.

[00:47:35] Now, again, Boomerang was not going to declare without Kohli getting there.

[00:47:39] But it was equally important for Boomerang to get out there and have a crack at them before the day ends.

[00:47:45] And so, I just think there was relief all around when that ball went to the boundary because, you know, Kohli didn't know for a second.

[00:47:51] I didn't know for a second because I thought he was on 99.

[00:47:53] I think Kohli and I were in sync, like we often are, live at the ground.

[00:47:59] And so, yeah, it was incredible.

[00:48:02] He just put his bat up.

[00:48:03] The crowd went crazy.

[00:48:06] Boomerang called for the declaration.

[00:48:07] Spare a thought for Nintish, who hit 38 again.

[00:48:10] There was no discussion about whether he should be at his 50.

[00:48:14] I think, you know, the Aussie baseballers were very happy with this decision.

[00:48:18] And overall, just great, man, just to see Kohli hit a century.

[00:48:23] Again, like I said, everyone messaged me about Kohli's century.

[00:48:25] Nobody messaged me about Jaisal's century because that is just who Kohli is, right?

[00:48:31] He's just that emotion for us.

[00:48:33] Yeah, really, really well said.

[00:48:35] DJ, my controversial question of the day is, would Rohit have declared when Kohli was on 91 and in killing time?

[00:48:40] No chance.

[00:48:41] Okay.

[00:48:42] No further.

[00:48:43] Absolutely no chance.

[00:48:44] Right.

[00:48:45] But we talk about, for those who don't watch test cricket, we talk about the importance of timing declarations and the ability for,

[00:48:51] exactly as you said, Boomerang to come out, have a crack at these guys.

[00:48:55] India has just lived through something what felt similar a little bit against New Zealand.

[00:49:00] But Australia comes out with, I think it was about 25-odd minutes to spare.

[00:49:03] So you think probably close to five overs.

[00:49:07] And poor Nathan McSweeney, in his second innings of his first test match ever, has to face Boomerang with the new ball.

[00:49:15] Again, gets out on the fourth ball of the innings.

[00:49:18] DJ, at this point, your number three is Marnesh Labushet and your number four is Steve Smith.

[00:49:24] Why as the skipper?

[00:49:25] Now, it's not like there were three balls left in the day.

[00:49:28] There were still over 20 minutes.

[00:49:29] There's at least three, four overs.

[00:49:30] Why does Patrick Cummins, who's been out there for three days in the searing Perth heat that Varun talked about,

[00:49:37] bold over 40 overs, why does he as a skipper say,

[00:49:39] I'm going to go bad at number three and play this Night Watchman role?

[00:49:42] What was the thinking at that point?

[00:49:44] I think he was dehydrated and delusional.

[00:49:48] That's all.

[00:49:49] Sorry, what were you saying, Varun?

[00:49:51] I was saying, I think the other bowlers refused.

[00:49:54] Paddy, you can go.

[00:49:57] Paddy, mate, you can do the job of the Night Watchman.

[00:50:00] It was a weird decision.

[00:50:02] There was 24 minutes, I think, when they came out.

[00:50:04] McSweeney got an unplayable one in the second ball.

[00:50:07] And then Patrick Cummins comes out and just edges one.

[00:50:12] And Manes is out there anyway.

[00:50:13] So it was just so weird.

[00:50:17] It was the most un-Australian thing I've seen for a while, actually.

[00:50:21] But maybe Manes was tired from his bowling.

[00:50:23] I mean, yeah.

[00:50:25] So, fantastic.

[00:50:26] Dude, Siraj was also so pumped up.

[00:50:30] I thought he's going to forget he has to bowl.

[00:50:32] I thought he was just going for a 100-meter dash.

[00:50:35] He was so pumped up when he came in to bowl.

[00:50:39] And it just helped, right?

[00:50:40] Because he got Cummins out.

[00:50:42] Yeah.

[00:50:43] So, Varun, talk through that.

[00:50:44] Because you did say, in fairness, Siraj was pretty ineffective in the first innings,

[00:50:49] or at least part of the first innings.

[00:50:50] It seems like coming out in the late last bit of the session on day three, he figured it out, right?

[00:50:56] He obviously got Pat Cummins, which, fine, maybe not the toughest we could get.

[00:51:00] But then he got Kwaja as well.

[00:51:01] And that wrapped up the day, I guess, on 12.

[00:51:05] Or sorry.

[00:51:06] Yeah, he got Kwaja as well.

[00:51:07] It was a brain fade of a shot.

[00:51:08] But wraps up the day at 12 for 3, which is a totally different energy going into the dressing room, right?

[00:51:14] Yeah.

[00:51:14] And man, the crowd at that point was dead.

[00:51:17] Like you couldn't hear anything.

[00:51:18] Wow.

[00:51:19] You just couldn't hear anything at that point.

[00:51:22] Because this was just bonus, right?

[00:51:24] Everyone had a great day.

[00:51:25] Everyone was very happy with this day, satisfied.

[00:51:28] You were ready to go home.

[00:51:29] And then we got three wickets.

[00:51:31] So it was just like this bonus.

[00:51:33] And I'm telling you, man, it was just deafening.

[00:51:35] I could not hear anything.

[00:51:36] Everyone had goosebumps.

[00:51:39] It was spectacular.

[00:51:41] And I had Aussies in the crowd saying, doesn't Juspreet Bumrah want a second baby?

[00:51:46] Shouldn't he go on paternity leave again?

[00:51:48] Why isn't he like, you know, why is he still here bowling?

[00:51:51] And it was just crazy.

[00:51:53] Oh, I thought they would have said see at the Gabba, mate.

[00:51:56] They did.

[00:51:57] They were just like, this is the worst day of our cricketing history.

[00:52:04] And it was just, yeah, it was very sad for them.

[00:52:07] Yeah.

[00:52:08] I mean, honestly, not a lot else.

[00:52:09] We've gone so far over a lot of time because of Jus, Walt, Century and Kohli and internet

[00:52:14] issues not standing.

[00:52:15] But man, DJ 12 for three coming out on the fourth day.

[00:52:20] 533 is your target.

[00:52:21] It was never really going to happen.

[00:52:23] Full credit to Travis Head.

[00:52:24] Played an outstanding knock.

[00:52:26] Mitchell Marsh looked good out there.

[00:52:27] Alex Carey looked decent out there.

[00:52:29] But I mean, Bumrah picked up another three wickets.

[00:52:31] Siraj picked up three.

[00:52:33] Sundar looked good there.

[00:52:34] I mean, full credit, by the way, to Bumrah for getting that Travis Head wicked to an 89.

[00:52:39] And I just loved seeing he's a calm, cool, calm, collected guy.

[00:52:42] He's very level-headed, very balanced.

[00:52:44] But seeing that sort of roar as he got Travis Head out because he knew this is it for us

[00:52:50] was really something.

[00:52:52] 238 all out is where Australia finished.

[00:52:56] 295 run victory.

[00:52:58] DJ, let me very quickly ask you because we will spend more time next week.

[00:53:01] Next week, the Adelaide pink ball test wouldn't have started.

[00:53:04] There's a two-day warm-up match that India is playing.

[00:53:06] Rohit Sharma is back.

[00:53:07] What happens to this playing 11 going into Adelaide in over a week's time?

[00:53:12] I think Rohit just comes in for DDP, right?

[00:53:16] That's it.

[00:53:17] Rahul drops to three?

[00:53:20] Or...

[00:53:20] I mean, he's already open, so he may as well.

[00:53:24] That's the only change I would make to this winning team.

[00:53:28] Rahul at three, Rohit opening, and then Jadeja and Ash still sitting on the sidelines.

[00:53:33] Jadeja taking out drinks for Washington Sundar?

[00:53:37] I mean, so there's two things, right?

[00:53:38] One is Gil as well, right?

[00:53:40] If Gil is okay, then unfortunately Jirel is going to sit out,

[00:53:44] and then KL Rahul is in with another problem of where to back.

[00:53:46] He's not going to stop.

[00:53:47] But I do have just one last point to make.

[00:53:51] We could have been on the opposite end of this, right?

[00:53:53] Bowling in the sun.

[00:53:55] And I do want to call out that...

[00:54:00] I'm going to sound very stupid saying this,

[00:54:02] but I don't think our bowling lineup is up to the mark

[00:54:05] to take that kind of pressure, right?

[00:54:08] Nitish Kumar, Rana Reddy, then Harshit Rana,

[00:54:13] Washington Sundar, and Siraj.

[00:54:15] And I just...

[00:54:18] I know we won, but it just didn't inspire a lot of confidence.

[00:54:21] So isn't Shami coming for the second test, though?

[00:54:24] Shami is not going to come for the second,

[00:54:25] but Shami might show up, which will be incredible.

[00:54:30] Like, I've already got...

[00:54:31] Especially in the second innings.

[00:54:33] Like, just thinking about...

[00:54:34] I mean, second inning, Shami,

[00:54:36] he has to play the first innings first.

[00:54:38] He can't just fly in for the second.

[00:54:40] Just bring him for the second innings, dude?

[00:54:43] What if Harshit gets a concussion sub

[00:54:46] and Shami comes in as like-for-like?

[00:54:48] Like-for-like.

[00:54:49] Yeah.

[00:54:50] No, because...

[00:54:51] Yeah, because as you say, the third seamer...

[00:54:53] Siraj is a perfect third seamer to bowl those bulk overs, right?

[00:54:56] Yeah.

[00:54:57] You need a...

[00:54:58] You need a better second seamer.

[00:55:00] And that's the Shami point.

[00:55:01] And that's what...

[00:55:02] And with Shami not being there,

[00:55:04] I just feel like...

[00:55:05] I mean, I would say it's worth trying up Rasid.

[00:55:08] I like that guy.

[00:55:10] And I don't...

[00:55:11] I just don't know, man.

[00:55:12] There is some value in Ashwin and Jadeja also.

[00:55:14] So, there may not be changes for this test.

[00:55:17] But again, I want to say,

[00:55:18] if we were caught on the other side,

[00:55:19] I think Smith and Lagushin batting against these four bowlers,

[00:55:24] I think they could have hit 400.

[00:55:26] And the point actually around the 11 will be,

[00:55:29] because it's Adelaide,

[00:55:30] because it's day and night,

[00:55:31] because it's going to seam around under lights,

[00:55:33] you can probably still get away with this bowling lineup, right?

[00:55:37] You don't need someone to bowl the 130-over innings

[00:55:42] that you would have in Sydney and Melbourne later in the series.

[00:55:45] So, I suspect...

[00:55:46] I think Kiel is probably still going to be rested for this,

[00:55:49] because his fracture will still be healing.

[00:55:51] So, they won't rush him back,

[00:55:52] particularly because KL has done well.

[00:55:54] If they do, as you said,

[00:55:55] Jurel, I think, will sit out for KL,

[00:55:57] because he's batted really well,

[00:55:58] and KL will go down.

[00:56:00] But I think they will stick with the same lineup

[00:56:03] just because of the seeming condition in Adelaide.

[00:56:06] But you're totally right.

[00:56:08] This could have all been completely on the opposite foot,

[00:56:11] depending on who bowled when and who batted when, right?

[00:56:13] And that was a point I was trying to make earlier as well,

[00:56:15] because the conditions changed so starkly,

[00:56:18] and they will again in the day and night test match.

[00:56:21] As we saw in 36 for 9.

[00:56:22] Remember, that is a 36 for 9.

[00:56:24] So, India would be looking to set that record right as well.

[00:56:27] Yeah.

[00:56:28] And I do think if Nitish is the guy

[00:56:30] who's going to take over that batting at number 7,

[00:56:33] you could...

[00:56:35] Ashwin is a better bowler than Sundar, right?

[00:56:37] So, I think that there is one angle there.

[00:56:39] And I think there is an angle of bringing in Prasid.

[00:56:42] And also, the last point, I know we've gone on a long time,

[00:56:45] is I also think, and a lot of people in the stands agree to me,

[00:56:48] that you should not be playing these four Aussie bowlers

[00:56:51] in every test together.

[00:56:52] You should get one new guy with these three.

[00:56:54] Give everyone a break.

[00:56:56] Like you said, it's a long series.

[00:56:58] But you have to break the monotony of these same four for 10 years.

[00:57:01] And I think I wouldn't be surprised if we see that,

[00:57:05] that you're going to get one new bowler in every test

[00:57:09] rotating for one of these guys.

[00:57:11] Yeah, we've seen, obviously, Boland has come in and done well.

[00:57:15] We've seen...

[00:57:15] I'm trying to look through,

[00:57:16] because Australia has announced their squad specifically...

[00:57:18] Is that Boland Trump?

[00:57:19] ...squad for the first test.

[00:57:22] No comment.

[00:57:24] But he's in the squad, right?

[00:57:27] Scott Boland, almost called him Boland Trump,

[00:57:29] is in the squad.

[00:57:30] So you could absolutely see him come in.

[00:57:32] I think it's going to be really interesting to see what they see in the nets

[00:57:34] with the pink ball.

[00:57:36] Does Harshit...

[00:57:36] Do Harshit and Siraj still have the purchase

[00:57:39] with the pink ball that they did with the red?

[00:57:41] Obviously, no question about Bumrah.

[00:57:42] But is Anakash or a Presid better suited for that ball?

[00:57:47] I think it's going to be really, really fascinating.

[00:57:48] I'm with you.

[00:57:49] I don't...

[00:57:49] I love Sundar, and he looked great.

[00:57:51] But are you really picking your number eight on their batting?

[00:57:53] You should be picking the number eight based on their bowling.

[00:57:57] Ability.

[00:57:57] And, by the way, Ash happens to be an outstanding batter.

[00:58:02] Deep breath.

[00:58:02] This has been awesome.

[00:58:04] What a great match.

[00:58:05] Fantastic, fantastic win at Perth against the Australians.

[00:58:09] It's going to be a long, exciting series.

[00:58:11] I imagine it's 1-0 now, as DJ is showing you.

[00:58:14] It is going to be a seesaw X series.

[00:58:15] I'm mentally prepared that it's going to come up.

[00:58:18] For all the highs, there will be some lows.

[00:58:19] But gosh, what a start.

[00:58:22] So much so that the other big news in the world of cricket, which is the IPL auction,

[00:58:26] is going to take a pause until we talk about it next week.

[00:58:29] So next week, when we're back, we will do a full deep dive into the IPL auction, as well

[00:58:33] as a preview of the Adelaide test and the three remaining tests to follow.

[00:58:37] But the headlines?

[00:58:39] And Kael Rahulov has essentially swapped teams.

[00:58:41] Shreyas Ayer got another big bid.

[00:58:44] Lots of exciting kind of big changes.

[00:58:46] But we will talk about all of that next week.

[00:58:49] DJ Varun, thank you for joining me.

[00:58:51] For those of you on YouTube Live who persisted through some of our tech challenges as well,

[00:58:55] thank you for being on.

[00:58:56] Hit that like button.

[00:58:57] Hit that subscribe button.

[00:58:58] We will be back in a week's time to talk a little bit more about everything going on

[00:59:01] in the world of IPL and India versus Australia.

[00:59:04] This has been the Edges and Sledges Cricket Podcast.

[00:59:07] Thank you for joining us.