India’s absolute domination of Australia on Day 3 of the Perth Test was headlined by two players from different generations. When Virat Kohli made his international debut in 2008, was not even 7-years old. On Sunday, as India bullied Australia and knocked them down on the mat, Jaiswal led the way with a 161 for the ages, a little over 48 hours after he was dismissed for a duck. A little while later, Virat Kohli shrugged off a horror run of form in Test cricket to punch his 30th hundred and the 7th in Australia.
By stumps on Day 3, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj had reduced Australia to 12 for 3. By the way, Australia need another 522 runs with 7 wickets in hand. India are well and truly on course to one of their most iconic Test wins of all time.
The Indian fightback in Perth is the stuff of fairy tales. Just a few weeks back, India were reeling from a whitewash at home against New Zealand and the coach, a feisty former international himself, had to come out and defend some of the biggest names in world cricket. So, if someone told you to write a script for the most memorable counterattacks on the field after that, the most imaginative of you would not have been able to write a script like this.
India’s regular captain could not make it to Perth for the first Test of a series which is more high-voltage than any other cricketing contest in the world. To make matters worse, India were blown away for 150 on a spicy pitch. Morale shattered? Far from it. India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah grabbed another five-wicket haul to skittle Australia out for 104. And then, Jaiswal, touted as the batting boss of the future and KL Rahul, ridiculed and mocked in one of his toughest years as a cricketer, ground Australia’s world-class bowling attack to the ground.
The fightback started on the second day but in Australia, milestones mean that much more. On Sunday morning, Yashasvi Jaiswal stormed to his fourth hundred with a ramp shot which carried for six and the respect from the Perth crowd was all too evident.
The young southpaw, normally reserved and poised, left no stone unturned to show he was thrilled with his achievement. It was a stellar knock under pressure and perhaps his journey from 0 to 161 epitomised the Indian grit on display at one of the most difficult venues in world cricket. Jaiswal took his time on the second day but unleashed a flurry of breath-taking strokes to leave Australia mesmerised.
KL Rahul, whose fluent first innings knock was cut down under controversial circumstances on Friday, fell for 77 at a time when Australia still fancied a comeback. Rishabh Pant, the hero of India’s most famous win in Australia and Dhruv Jurel were dismissed quickly thereafter and you could have forgiven Pat Cummins for hoping India would roll over quickly. However, Virat Kohli, out of form and his pride bruised, decided to play one of his best innings in the post-pandemic era.
How could he not! It was Australia in Australia. Yes, Kohli has played better innings in tougher conditions and he was given a terrific platform on a flat pitch by Jaiswal and Rahul. But to stay put, punish the loose balls and make use of some really poor captaincy and field-setting…. credit to Kohli. With his wife watching, there was no doubt in Kohli’s mind this was the moment to bury the ghost of the past few years.
Virat Kohli‘s Test form was under scrutiny and his abject performances against New Zealand only made it worse. But what is Kohli without a bit of fight and spunk? While batting did indeed get relatively easier over the last two afternoons, the odd ball kept low and the uneven bounce made things more complicated. Kohli was watchful in a solid partnership with Washington Sundar to reach his fifty and then upped the ante in the company of debutant Nitish Reddy to reach his 30th Test hundred, second successive against Australia and the first Test hundred of 2024.
Virat Kohli also broke Jack Hobbs’s record for most international hundreds across formats in Australia before the declaration came. And then, it was over to the Indian pacers who once again rattled Australia’s top-order to leave India on the cusp of a historic victory.
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