BGT: Australia sink to historic low in record books as India’s pacers shine in Perth

Perth (Australia), : Australia slumped to an all-time low after India’s pace blitz left the hosts reeling on Day 2 of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener in Perth.

The rivalry between two modern day Test heavyweights has lived up to expectations with the action on the field in every aspect.

On the opening day, when India folded on 150, all signs pointed to Australia’s dominance. But Indian pacers, led by stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah, dug deep, upped the ante and sent Australia reeling on 104.

With the visitors giving nothing away to Australia with the ball, India grabbed a crucial 46-run lead after a resilient 25-run stand between Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

104 is the lowest first innings total and the fourth lowest overall for Australia against India in Test cricket. The previous lowest first-innings total was 107 at Sydney in 1947.

Notably, since 2000 this was the third lowest total for Australia at home. Australia’s 85 against South Africa in Hobart in 2016 remains their worst outing with the bat at home in the 21st century.

After Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and debutant Harshit Rana produced a breathtaking pace display, the trio continued to breathe down Australia’s neck.

In the opening hours on Day 2, Bumrah, with his scorching pace, got the better of Australia’s in-form batsman Alex Carey.

Using the bounce on offer, Bumrah forced a thick edge from Carey to claim his 11th Test five-wicket haul. This was his seventh five-fer in SENA countries, sharing with legendary Kapil Dev for most by an Indian bowler in the aforementioned countries.

In the first innings, the stand-in Indian skipper bowled 18 overs and took five wickets for 30 runs at an economy rate of 1.67. In 27 Tests in SENA countries, Bumrah has 118 wickets, at an average of 22.55, with best figures of 6/33.

The 30-year-old got crucial wickets from Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Alex Carey and his counterpart Pat Cummins.

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