Bumrah goes 'Boom Boom'

BORDER-GAVASKAR TROPHY DAY 1

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PERTH: Skipper Jasprit Bumrah made amends for his debatable toss call to bat first with a mesmerising opening spell that left Australia scurrying for cover at 67 for 7 and helped India make an emphatic comeback after a flop show with the willow on the opening day of the first Test here.

The match, which was billed as a battle between two out of form batting units, lived up to the prediction at least on the first day. As many as 17 wickets fell, which is the first time in seven decades for a Test match on Australian soil.

The stand-in India skipper, much to everyone's surprise, opted to bat on a track with a liberal grass cover which generated appreciable seam movement and midriff high bounce.

But neither the youngsters nor the seasoned ones in the Indian line-up were up to the task.

It was debutant Nitish Reddy's gutsy 41 and Rishabh Pant's 37, including an unbelievable sixer, that got India to 150 in 49.4 overs with Josh Hazlewood (4/29), Mitchell Starc (2/14 in 11 overs), Pat Cummins (2/67 in 15.4 overs) and Mitchell Marsh (2/12 in 5 overs) sharing the spoils.