Australia 67 for 7 (Carey 19*, Bumrah 4-17, Siraj 2-17) India 150 (Reddy 41, Pant 37, Hazlewood 4-29, Marsh 2-12, Starc 2-14) by 83 runs
He claimed debutant Nathan McSweeney for 10 in the third over before dismissing Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith with consecutive balls in the seventh over to turn around a fast-moving first Test.
In just his second red-ball match opening the batting, McSweeney faced a baptism of fire and initially misjudged the length before Bumrah adapted to a fuller length and caught him on the pads. Smith’s return to his favorite number 4 did not start well after shuffling on his stumps and being hit by a wicked delivery from Bumrah that went back a mile.
After starting the season slowly, Labuschagne went through some excruciating times. He was dropped at second slip by Virat Kohli after edging Bumrah and did not score in his first 24 deliveries faced. He received false applause from the stands when he finally broke his drought, but Labuschagne could never get going and scored a painstaking 2 off 52 balls.
Bumrah wasn’t quite done when he returned to the shadows to dismiss Pat Cummins as Australia limped to 67 for 7.
It was a notable turnaround after India were bowled out for 150 in just 49.4 overs. Nine of the Indian batsmen were caught behind the wicket in a form of dismissal that has been common in Perth over the years at the Optus Stadium and the nearby WACA ground.
After India sensationally left out veteran spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah elected to bat after winning the toss. With cloudy skies over a green-tinged surface, it was certainly an agonizing decision, but batting first seemed the logical move given the pitch is expected to deteriorate amid warmer weather later in the match.
With unseasonably wet weather ahead of the game, there was a lot of intrigue about how the field would perform. There was movement and rebound, but perhaps not the minefield indicated by the scoreboard.
India’s top order was at sea against the superb new bowling of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who claimed all four wickets in the first session. Starc, especially, was outstanding in setting the tone for an Australian attack that strangled India.
After overcoming injury problems last summer, Starc entered the season in top form. He continued his strong form with fast, inquisitive bowling, troubling left-handers especially with immaculate line and distance swing.
Seemingly attempting to start the series in the same manner as the Ashes series in 2021-22, Starc’s first delivery was an anticlimax and he missed opener Yashasvi Jaiswal’s leg stump and flew towards the boundary.
After that, he got it right and his accuracy overwhelmed Jaiswal, who on his eighth delivery, while trying to score his first runs in Australia, drove up and came close to McSweeney in the gully.
With his bat well in front of his body, it was an errant stroke that had echoes of a lanky delivery by Pakistan captain Shan Masood in last year’s Perth Test.
With captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill unavailable, Devdutt Padikkal was given an unexpected opportunity at number 3 after impressing recently in the India A matches. But he was totally shackled by the quicks and did not score in his first 22 deliveries faced. The pressure proved too much with Padikkal on the next ball beating Hazlewood with an angled bat trying to defend himself.
All eyes were on Kohli, who received a loud applause from the 31,302 spectators, although the Indian fans in the stands were vastly outnumbered, a rarity.
India desperately needed their long-standing talisman to shrug off poor form on a wicket where they scored a brilliant century in the 2018-19 series. Kohli batted well outside the crease in a well-worn strategy that he had successfully implemented earlier in Australia.
But Hazlewood, who has had great success against Kohli over the years, adjusted and bowled a great length. Kohli in the 5th over could only fend off a lofted delivery from Hazlewood that landed squarely at first slip.
After lunch, all-rounder Marsh made a successful return to bowling with the wickets of Dhruv Jurel, who had been selected after his performances for India, and Washington Sundar.
Marsh had bowled just four overs since tearing his hamstring in the IPL. But he ran strongly and finished with 2-12 from 5 overs in a boost for an attack without all-rounder Cameron Green, who will miss the entire series due to a back injury.
Pant was typically adventurous marked by an audacious six off a Cummins full delivery, while Reddy mixed orthodox drives with paddle sweeps to frustrate offspinner Nathan Lyon.
But neither could continue as India was dismissed with tea. In his first red-ball match since the New Zealand Tests in March, Cummins looked a little weakened and could not find consistent length as he finished with 2-67 from 15.4 overs.
He dismissed Pant and Reddy and left the field very satisfied with Australia’s performance. But Cummins’ mood quickly soured and just over two hours later he left the field after being dismissed by his counterpart.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth.
