Australia vs India: Virat Kohli fails again as 17 wickets fall on opening day of first Test in Perth
Questions were raised about India’s batting prowess going into the series after they lost 3-0 to New Zealand by 46 runs, 156 runs and 121 runs.
Opener captain Rohit Sharma has missed the match after giving birth to his second child, while No. 3 Shubman Gill injured his thumb during India’s warm-up and has not been considered for selection.
This resulted in KL Rahul opening the batting, while Padikkal, playing his second Test, finished at number three.
Kohli, who was under pressure to keep the innings and makeshift squad together, injected energy into the crease and looked proactive but he failed again.
He was assisted by some good bowling by Josh Hazlewood, the ball was a little short and he found extra bounce to bring in the outside edge.
This is the fifth time in the past 10 Test innings that Kohli has scored in single digits, averaging just 21.2 against his career average of 47.6. His innings average was just 29.4 pitches, well below his career average of 80.3 pitches.
The rest of the Indian batting line-up were stunned by the Australian seamer’s accuracy.
There was hardly a loose ball and subtle changes in the line often brought advantage, with nine wickets being caught behind the stumps by Alex Carey or the cordon.
Rahul’s dismissal was controversial as the review was behind schedule and the Indians believed the noise on the dynamometer was technically due to the bat striking the pad and not the outside edge.
Pant, the only in-form Indian batsman, put up a fight along with Kumar Reddy – both survived – but Australia’s continued tangle paid dividends.
