2nd Test: Shami, Ashwin, Jadeja share wickets as India dismiss Australia for 263 on Day 1

After spraying the ball around a bit initially, Mohammad Shami and Mohammad Siraj changed gears.

Siraj ran in with good rhythm and fluency and pulled his length back, testing David Warner with the short ball. Warner, who struggled to get going, scored his first run off the 21st ball he faced. Sensing the opportunity, Siraj bounced Warner. The batsman went for the hook, but did not time the stroke well, and the ball crashed into his unprotected elbow. The physio and doctor came on, and after a longish break to get taped, a distinctly uncomfortable Warner resumed his innings.

In the 10th over, Siraj would unleash the bouncer again, and this time Warner missed completely and copped the blow on his helmet. Once again medical assistance was sought.

Traditionally the boot is on the other foot, with Australia’s fast bowlers using short pitched bowling to try and intimidate India’s batsmen. Eventually, Shami would reap the reward for Siraj having softened up Warner, a perfectly pitched ball in the channel taking the outside edge and sending back Warner.

In the very best teams, success is built on individuals working together, putting complementary talents to use. And Ashwin certainly proved that on the day, picking up the two biggest wickets in one over. Bowling around the stumps, Ashwin tossed one towards off and got it to break perfectly, beating Marcus Labuschagne and trapping him in front of the stumps. Two balls later the same angle worked a treat again, with Steve Smith playing for the turn, only to watch the ball hold its line and take the outside edge. The main man was gone for a duck.

If India thought that the twin strike would help trigger a collapse, as in the first Test, they had another thing coming. As the ball softened and the sun beat down, bowlers were forced to work hard and be inventive for their wickets, and there’s no cannier operator in situations such as these than Shami. Shami would be back at work in the 30th over and this time he was bang on target with the slightly old ball. Travis Head, who had come down the track and hit R Ashwin for a six, appeared to be attempting to take the attack to the bowlers. A hard slash off Shami only resulted in a thick edge, which KL Rahul grabbed with both hands, completing a sharp catch.

In the final session of the day, Shami would be called on once again, Australia heading towards a strong total thanks to Usman Khawaja’s 81 and stout resistance from Peter Handscomb (72 not out). Shami’s method against lower-order batsmen is different and Nathan Lyon had no chance against a ball that tailed in and splayed the stumps.

Shami then put an end to the innings, rushing past the bat of Matthew Kunhemann, the debutant, slanting a ball in to peg back the leg stump. On a pitch designed to give the spinners maximum assistance, Shami ended the day with figures of 14.4-6-60-4.

There has been plenty of talk about travelling batsmen having to adapt to playing in Indian conditions and spinners having to tweak their lines to attack the stumps more. But, quick bowling on India pitches is an art form in itself. Shami is one who has cracked the code. In 20 Tests at home, Shami has 74 wickets at an average of just 20.5, almost seven points lower than his overall. It’s difficult for quick bowlers to run through sides here, especially with the spinners doing the lion’s share of the bowling. But, Shami has made himself invaluable in other ways. When there’s little happening, he keeps things tight, drying up runs and building pressure to give the spinners something to work with.

When the ball is reversing, Shami brings out his bag of tricks, using his cricketing acumen to set up batsmen, lulling them into complacency before exploiting a weakness he has observed. Equally, Shami is a threat with the new ball, as he showed in the first Test, scalping Warner early.

By the end of this Test match, it is quite likely that one of the spinners will be walking away with the glory. If India can bat five sessions, the pitch would have worn significantly, bringing the slow bowlers into play. But, Shami won’t mind that. He will know that he has done his bit in helping his team push for victory. And you can be sure the team knows exactly how valuable he is.

BRIEF SCORES

Australia 263 (Khawaja 82, Handscomb 72*; Shami 4/60, Ashwin 3/57, Jadeja 3/68) lead India 21/0 (Rohit 13*, Rahul 4*) by 242 runs at stumps on Day 1 .