First Test: Aus 277/6 at stumps, Exclusive Pictures
Melbourne: It was a perfect start to an Aussie summer at the Melbourne Cricket Ground as India managed to put up a positive show when faced with a formidable Oz outfit at home on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test.The scorecard read 277/6 at stumps on a day that saw short patches of rain disrupt play for a stadium full of spectators who were given a feast of the best quality Test cricket in the world.
A handy partnership between Brad Haddin and Peter Siddle averted a complete collapse in the final session of play while the Indian bowlers came back strongly after the top order, led by Ricky Ponting threatened to take the air out of the visitors’ attack.Ed Cowan (68) made a solid debut before he finally caved-in to the pressure mounted by the Indian bowlers, caught behind by MS Dhoni off Ravichandran Ashwin’s spin.
Before the collapse, Zaheer Khan had finally struck hard as he clean bowled Michael Clarke (31) with an awesome delivery that was dragged back onto the stumps. He followed it up with another beauty and dismissed Michael Hussey for a duck on the very next delivery. The spectators were treated to Test cricket of the highest quality as the world’s top teams competed with full fervour, not giving the other any room to breathe. However, it was the Australians with the home advantage that held a slightly upper hand.
India (Playing XI): Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Ed Cowan, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke(c), Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin(w), Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Pattinson
( Cricinfo)
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