Gritty half-centuries from Marnus Labuschagne and debutant opener Will Pucovski on Thursday put Australia ahead on the rain-hit opening day of the third Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Australia ended Day One at 166/2 in 55 overs that could be bowled because of rain. At Stumps, Labuschagne and Steve Smith remained unbeaten on 67 and 31.
Earlier, after winning the toss, the hosts didn’t have a great start as they lost opener David Warner early in the innings. Warner, who is coming back from a groin injury after having missed the first two Tests, was caught in slips by Cheteshwar Pujara off the bowling of right-arm Mohammed Siraj in the fourth over. Warner scored five runs of the eight balls he faced.
Australia had reached 21/1 when the rain came pouring in the seventh over and players left the field. Umpires called for early Lunch and the play resumed only after a lengthy break in the second session.
Indian bowlers — Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj, and Ravichandran Ashwin — all bowled on tight lines and lengths and made sure the hosts didn’t score freely after the break. However, in the last 45 minutes of the session, the visitors were a bit sloppy in the field as wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant dropped two catches of Pucovski — one against Ashwin and the other against Siraj — and allowed the debutant to score his maiden half-century as Australia reached 93/1 at Tea.
In the final session of the day, Australia lost Pucovski who became the first Test scalp of debutant Navdeep Saini. The 22-year-old got out lbw after scoring 62 runs in the 110 deliveries he faced during his innings.
Smith, who had struggled in the first two Tests, came out with a positive intent this time around and scored quite a few boundaries and didn’t let the Indian bowlers, particularly Ashwin, dictate terms.
Along with Labuschagne, the duo added 60 runs for the third wicket and laid a solid platform for the hosts to set a huge first-innings total.
Brief scores: 166/2 at Stumps on Day One (Marnus Labuschagne 67*, Will Pucovski 62; Navdeep Saini 1/32)