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India is on top in the Boxing Day test after claiming the wicket from star hitter Marnus Labuschagne just before tea on the first day, leaving Australia beating 136-5.
Labuschagne was anchoring an Australian mini-match at MCG after India landed three punches in the first session, led by Steve Smith.
But rookie Mohammed Siraj fired Labuschagne for 48 on the leg section, and teammate Shubman Gill, the first player, received an excellent catch.
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Indian rookie Mohammed Siraj celebrates his first test ground, Australian Marnus Labuschagne.
The ejection left young off-roader Cameron Green (6 not out) and captain Tim Paine (0 not) in the fold.
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Labuschagne teamed up with Travis Head (38) for an 86-run slipway at the fourth gate, before reserve India captain Ajinkya Rahane caught Jasprit Bumrah’s fast bowling pin.
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Marnus Labuschagne was out by 48 in the second session of the first day of the Boxing Day test.
The MCG field has been infamously flat in recent years, but Indian bowlers were able to extract the seam and early effects from it.
Bumrah (2-24) cleared Burns in the fourth over, before Ravi Ashwin (2-25) claimed Matthew Wade and Smith’s prized scalp.
The stage was set for another Smith masterpiece when he entered the fold at 35-2, but the world’s No. 1 ranked hitter in testing was quickly sent packing.
Asanka Brendon Ratnayake / AP
Ravichandran Ashwin of India, right, took two wickets in the first session at MCG.
Smith was caught in a leg slip on an Ashwin pitch without scoring, the 31-year-old’s first test duck since 2016.
It wasn’t the only zero of the morning, with Burns’ 10-ball permanence again pressing him to hold his test spot.
Bumrah made Burns take a toll on retired goalkeeper Rishabh Pant, and the Queenslander are now averaging just 24.2 in their last nine test innings since making 97 against Pakistan in November 2019.
Asanka Brendon Ratnayake / AP
Steve Smith was knocked out when India dominated Australia’s batters in the first session
Given that star starter David Warner is expected to be ready for the next test, Burns will likely need a big score in the second inning to save his international career.
Improvised offensive starter Wade went for a big shot over and was caught by a Ravindra Jadeja dive on Ashwin’s pitch for 30.
Australia adopted an unchanged lineup and Paine opted to hit first after securing a landslide eight-wicket victory in the opening game, where India collapsed for a record 36.
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Ravindra Jadeja and Shubman Gill nearly collided, but the former took the catch to fire Australian starter Matthew Wade.
India made four changes, as their goal is to level the series in a place where they won comfortably two years ago in a game where Bumrah starred with nine wickets.
Pant has been sloppy behind the stumps, conceding 10 byes, while Gill, the all-rounder Jadeja and Siraj were also inclusive.
A crowd of up to 30,000 is on the ground and fans are returning to MCG for the first time since the final of the Twenty20 Women’s World Cup in March.
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Jasprit Bumrah took Joe Burns out for a duck.
