Photo: AFP file
India celebrated a triumphant Monday as they emerged victorious against Australia in the first test match held at Perth Stadium. The Indian team was just two wickets away from a decisive win, having reduced Australia to 227 for eight at tea on day four. The morning session saw the loss of Usman Khawaja (four) and Steve Smith (17), but Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh managed to restore some balance to the Australian total. Despite the visitors' persistent efforts, Marsh managed to hit fast bowler Harshit Rana for a six over deep-backward square in the first over after lunch, marking Australia's first six of the match. Dev Padikkal narrowly missed a powerful Marsh shot, but the Perth-local continued his aggressive play by launching spinner Washington Sundar into the second tier of the Justin Langer Stand. The 82-run partnership was finally broken when Head (89) edged a push at paceman Jasprit Bumrah, who was captaining India in place of Rohit Sharma, to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. Marsh contributed 47 runs before being bowled by debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhrev Jurel showcased his reflexes at short-leg to catch Mitchell Starc (12) off Washington's spin just as tea was called.
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