‘Flop’ Virat Kohli 1/10, Nitish Reddy ?/10: Rating Indian batters after Day 1 of IND vs AUS Perth Test

IND vs AUS Perth Test: Put up a spicy pitch with something for the bowlers and the Indian batters would collapse. This has been the case since some time now, as we witnessed against the New Zealand, and once again Perth saw India bundle out for a mere 150 runs. Just to mention, 11 of those runs were extras. After opting to bat first, the Jasprit Bumrah-led side put themselves in the cauldron of fire as the Australian pacers ran riot. Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal all fared poorly. Meanwhile, KL Rahul was adjudged a controversial dismissal. Josh Hazlewood bagged four as India scored only 150.

All thanks to Bumrah’s magical and inspiration display of seam bowling that allowed India to enter the dressing room with noses in front. He wrecked havoc, alongside Mohammed Siraj as the hosts found themselves 67/7. However, this doesn’t undermine Indian batters poor show. On that note, let us look back and rate all Indian batters out of 10 following the 1st innings of the IND vs AUS Perth Test.

IND vs AUS: Yashasvi Jaiswal (0/10)

5 innings; 33 runs; Average of 8.3 and 4 dismissals – Yashasvi Jaiswal hasn’t found answers to his struggling game against left-arm pace. Mitchell Starc went past his outside edge multiple times before Jaiswal lost his patience. The southpaw splashed hard to a full-pitched delivery, sending a simple catch to debutant Nathan McSweeney at gully. Jaiswal averages just 10.00 in SENA countries and he really needs to prove his mettle under testing conditions. (0 off 8).

IND vs AUS: KL Rahul (8/10)

It was hard for Abhimanyu Easwaran to miss out despite Rohit Sharma not being available. But India went with the experience of KL Rahul, who played as a makeshift opener. Despite enduring a troubling form, Rahul proved to be India’s best batter in Perth, at least as far as technique was concerned. He was staying at his crease, playing close to his body and didn’t bother touching deliveries outside off-stump. Unfortunately, he was deemed out by the third umpire in a controversial fashion. Had he stayed on the crease, the Karnataka-born would’ve surely cashed in. (26 off 74)

IND vs AUS: Devdutt Padikkal (0/10)

A late addition to the Indian BGT squad, Devdutt Padikkal had a dismal show in the first innings. Batting at a tough time when the ball was hard and new, the southpaw didn’t move his feet at all. The Australian bowlers, who were poking him by bowling fuller lengths but Padikkal stood back all the time, ultimately leading to his dismissal against world-class Josh Hazlewood. Padikkal needs to ease his nerves from pavilion itself the next time he comes out to bat. (0 off 23).

IND vs AUS: Virat Kohli (1/10)

Here he comes. There has been a huge reception for Virat Kohli ever since he has landed in Australia. Every newspaper, every cricket expert and every local fan is just buzzing with Kohli’s presence. After all, he has done exceedingly well every time he has step onto the Australian shores. But now, this is a different Virat Kohli. He is enduring his worst-ever year in international cricket. The ex-India captain shot himself on the foot by playing “so much” outside the popping crease on a track that offered an extreme amount of bounce off the deck. The writing was on the wall. The tall Aussie bowlers banged in short to him and Kohli had no answers.

Kohli has been adamant about playing everything on frontfoot. But he really needs to take a step back forward and not play fire with fire always. (5 off 12).

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IND vs AUS: Rishabh Pant (8.5/10)

Rishabh Pant was once again there when India collapsed. He came out when IND were 32/3 and steadied the ship first with small partnerships with KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Pant has his way of dealing with the pressure and he did something remarkable once again. The lad scooped Pat Cummins for a massive six over the fine leg’s head for a six! Now and then, Pant tried to assert himself but was unfortunate to get dismissed while playing a wrong line altogether. (37 off 78).

IND vs AUS: Nitish Kumar Reddy (9/10)

It is not often that you make your Test debut in Australia and end up as the top-run scorer for your team. Well, Nitish Kumar Reddy now knows a thing or two about this feat. The 21-year-old talent was drafted into the Playing XI hoping that the team could benefit from his all-round abilities. And oh boy! His batting has looked a class apart. It was easy for him to tackle Nathan Lyon early on as he smashed a couple of boundaries off the legendary off-spinner. Then, he was forced to bat aggressively as Nitish lost partners from the other end. The Andhra batter applied himself superbly to the crease and it now expected to be a regular fixture in the team for the entire series. (41 off 59).

IND vs AUS: Dhruv Jurel (5.5/10)

Dhruv Jurel was drafted in place of Sarfaraz Khan. It was a sensible decision how well the Rajasthan Royals (RR) retained player fared in the practice game against Australia A. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the day for him as he nicked one off to the slip cordon. He made 11 runs but those runs came off a batter who looked in a great rhythm. (11 off 20).

IND vs AUS: Washington Sundar (2/10)

It was a bold move by Gautam Gambhir to play Washington Sundar ahead of veterans Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. While it may be an end of road for the duo overseas, Sundar earned his place after superb show against New Zealand. However, he got a great one by Marsh, who pitched in the right area and caught Washington’s edge to the keeper. (4 off 15).