PERTH, Australia — Fast bowler Mohamed Siraj has put India on the verge of victory in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia, who were struggling at 104-5 at lunch on the fourth day.
Siraj made an early impact by taking out opener Usman Khawaja with his fourth delivery on Monday morning. He then went on to dismiss the formidable Steve Smith, breaking a frustrating partnership of 62 runs for the fifth wicket.
Switching ends with fellow fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj managed to get Smith (17) to edge a catch to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, vital in India’s quest for victory.
At the lunch break, Siraj’s impressive figures stood at 3-34, while Bumrah, who was exceptionally effective in Australia’s first innings with 5-30, had taken 2-26.
Travis Head found himself not out at 63 and Mitchell Marsh had five runs as they prepared to resume after the break, facing the daunting challenge of surviving an additional 165 overs over the next five sessions to keep India from taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
India is on the cusp of claiming only its second Test win against Australia in Perth, having previously achieved this with a 72-run victory at the WACA ground in January 2008. In addition, this could mark India’s tenth win in a total of 53 Tests played on Australian soil.
The Indian team’s strong position was bolstered by remarkable centuries from opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored 161, and a composed 100 not out from Virat Kohli, leading to a second innings total of 487-6 declared.
This came after a stellar bowling performance by Bumrah, who helped dismiss Australia for a mere 104 runs in response to India’s modest first innings total of 150 runs, on a day that witnessed an astonishing 17 wickets tumble.
Facing an almost insurmountable target of 534 runs on a deteriorating surface at Perth Stadium, Australia found itself in dire straits at 12-3 by the end of the third day.
The fourth day began poorly for Australia, as Siraj was quick to claim Khawaja (4), who top-edged a delivery that Pant caught while running to complete the dismissal, reducing the home side to 17-4.
Despite the early setbacks, Smith and Head managed to navigate through tense moments against a sharp Indian pace attack. Head struck back with aggression, reaching a half-century off 63 balls, which included six fours. He had thus far faced 72 balls, accumulating seven fours in total.
Smith, the most seasoned batter in the lineup, looked to recover from a golden duck in the first innings, adopting a cautious approach until he was ultimately outsmarted by an impressive delivery from Siraj.