After an embarrassing loss in the opening day-night Adelaide Test, India is off to salvage some pride back. Meanwhile, it has pushed Australia onto the backfoot on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Saturday. As India finishes the day on a high, we look at the records produced during the game.
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Smith's woe continues: Prolific Australian top-order batsman, Steve Smith, was backed to come up with some top performances in this series. Nonetheless, he has not fired so far, as he was dismissed for an unfortunate duck, while it was his first since 2016. Also, it was his first duck in the format against India.
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Ashwin scripts a unique one after a long time: Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was once again on the wicket-taking list, as he finished with figures of 335. In the process, he became the first finger spinner to claim three or more on the opening day of a Test at the MCG, since Ravi Shastri did the same in 1985-86. Also, he became the Indian spinner for claiming the most three-for in Tests, in Australia. With eight such instances, he bettered the previous record of seven, by Anil Kumble. He also became the first spinner to claim multiple wickets in the opening session of a Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
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Australia record an unwanted one for the fifth time: Australia was bundled out for 195. In the process, it was its fifth instance of being all out on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. The others happened during 1981-82 (vs Windies), 1986-87 (vs England), 1996-97 (vs Windies) and 2010-11 (vs England). Also, it is their lowest in the same, while electing to bat first.
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Gill makes his debut with a record: Young opener Shubman Gill was one of the two debutants for Team India in this Test. As he made his debut, he held an exceptional record of being the Indian batsman with the fifth-best First-Class average, of 68.78. The record for the same happens to be with Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar (88.37).
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India scripts a novel one: In another notable observation, India has utilised the most players during a tour. In this tour, India has utilised 28 players, while their previous most was 27, during the 2018-19 Australia tour.
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Day 1 summary: Electing to bat first, Australia was off to a shaky start, as it kept losing wickets at regular intervals and lacked true partnerships. Marnus Labushagne was the top scorer with 48 runs, while pacer Jasprit Bumrah finished with 456 and Ashwin claimed 335. As for India, it too gave a shaky beginning, losing opener Mayank Agarwal for an unfortunate duck, while Shubman Gill (28) and Cheteshwar Pujara (7) are holding the fort, as the side trails by 159 runs.Brief scores: Australia 195 (Labushagne 48; Bumrah 456, Ashwin 335) leads India 361 (Gill 28; Starc 114) by 159 runs.
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