India looked a spirited unit under stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane as they took on Australia on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne on Saturday. In the absence of regular captain Virat Kohli, Rahane led the team well and inspired his side to bundle out Australia for 195 in their first innings at the MCG.
Asked to bowl after losing the toss, Indian bowlers pinned Australia on the backfoot after early strikes from Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin. Marnus Labuschagne (48) and Travis Head (38) then helped Australia stage a comeback with an 86-run stand for the 4th wicket before Indian bowlers ran through the Australian lower-middle order and the tail.
While Bumrah finished with a 4-wicket haul, Ashwin picked up three wickets and debutant Mohammed Siraj returned with two wickets. Rahane earned plaudits for his captaincy on the opening day as India dominated the proceedings. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was also asked for his views on Rahane’s leadership but he refrained from praising the Mumbai bat
Gavaskar said he will be accused of backing a ‘Mumbai boy’ if he praises Rahane and said it was too early to judge whether his captaincy has been great.
“Importantly, let’s not jump into conclusions too quickly. If I say that his captaincy is outstanding, then again, I will be accused of backing a Mumbai boy and all kinds of things will happen. So I don’t want to get into that because these are early days,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network after India’s good show with the ball in the Boxing Day Test.
Rahane’s field placements on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test were accurate as the likes of Labuschange, Smith, and Head were all caught by fielders deployed at different positions. Gavaskar praised him for his field placements but insisted the captain is as good as his bowlers when it comes to field placements.
“From what I have seen in the last 2 Tests he captained and the one-day matches he captained, he has got a great sense of where the fielders should be kept. Having said that, it’s very important for the bowlers to bowl to their field. If the bowlers bowl to the field, as they did today, then the captain looks very good,” Gavaskar stated.
