Jaiswal-Rahul batting feast put India on driver's seat in Perth test

PERTH: India settled into a strong position in the first cricket test against Australia in Perth. After taking a 46-run lead in the first innings, India were 172 runs without any loss at the end of the second day. Openers KL Rahul 62*(153) and Yashasvi Jaiswal 90*(193) turned the game in India’s favour with their fine performance.

After getting India bowled for 150 runs in the first innings, Australia went through a nightmare batting show and could reach only 104 runs. India thus took a decisive lead of 46 runs. Indian captain Jasprit Bumrah, with five wickets, ripped apart the Aussie batting lineup. Test debutant Harshit Rana took three wickets while Mohammad Siraj took two wickets.

Mitchell Starc's 112-ball 26 and Josh Hazelwood's unbeaten seven helped the hosts cross the hundred mark in the first innings. Both added 25 runs to the scoreboard in the last wicket. On day one, the Indian skipper won the toss and elected to bat in Perth. Opener Jaiswal and Devdut Padikkal returned for a duck. Virat Kohli yet again stumbled and was dismissed for just five runs.

Only Rishabh Pant (37) and newcomer Nitish Kumar Reddy (41) showed resistance and held on for some long.