India buried at the infancy of this test match. Warner & Pace Quartet, wreckers-in-chief.

(Australia vs India, 1st day, 3rd test match at Perth from Jan 13-17, 2012, Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2011-12)

MATCH STATUS

India - 161, Australia - 149/0. Australia trail by 12 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the 1st Innings

If you're an Indian player or even a fan, the 1st day of the 3rd test match, is much more spookier than the date, "Friday -The 13th" itself. Indians were put through a nightmarish day at Perth, praying for the day's play to get over as soon as possible. If one thought, surrendering to 161 meekly caused a lot of bruises, the Warner blitzkrieg that followed after that was like adding a handful of 'Trinidad Scorpion Butch T (the world's hottest chili) peppered on the bruises. By the end of the day, Australia were just 12 runs behind from India's first innings total, with all the wickets in tact. 

The routine affair of M.S.Dhoni losing the toss continued even in Perth. The much spoken about green-velvet top of 22 yards did look alarmingly menacing, but the way it spanned out during the day reinforces the fact that, looks are deceptive. There was early movement, which was much visible in the innumerable uncomfortable beatens the Indian openers faced. With an all pace attack, the openers had a task on hand. Sehwag, edging one to slips, failed yet again in a very disturbing series so far. Both Harris & Hilfenhaus in their come back trails, bowled superbly with a probing line and length. Siddle was introduced first change & immediately claimed a very unsettled Dravid with an awesome yorker. It was yet another groggy morning, if you'd just switched on the TV then.  

Yet again, Sachin walked in early, under 15 overs, with a thunderous applause and the jinxed monkey sitting on his back. He started off with much elan, especially the straight drives, which raised hopes yet again. But those drives flattered to deceive. Harris, claiming his first wicket on his come back, bowled a fine in-swinger to wrap the master on his pads, which looked out straight away. You could see the frustration on Sachin's face on his way back to the pavilion. Gambhir, though looked assertive in the beginning, played his trademark 'poke' to gift his wicket to Hilfenhaus, the very next over. The top order slumped yet again to 63-4 before lunch. It was becoming a painfully recurring failure of the Indian batsman.     

Kohli, for the first time in the series looked positive, played with maturity and was leaving the ball well. He was ably supported by the, out-of-form Laxman at the other end. These 2 batsmen put up a promising partnership of 70, before the wires snapped from either ends. Jut before tea, Kohli cut an outgoing delivery straight to point & Laxman was consumed at the slips. With both the set batsman failing to convert a start, in what seemed like a very good batting track, India were yet again staring down the barrel at 138/6. With the captain & the bowlers remaining, it was a matter of time before the tail surrendered without a fight for a paltry 161. 

The entire credit would obviously belong to the Pace-quartet of Australia, who were bowling like a perfectly orchestrated symphony. Hilfenhaus - who claimed his 2nd consecutive 5 wicket haul, Harris - the comeback man with much resolve and without much luck, Siddle - the man for whom the battery never runs out & Starc - the rising rookie, with a perfect action. Australia aren't missing Johnson, Cummins, Watson,  or Pattinson, by any stretch.   

Faced by a similar situation, India needed a flurry of wickets upfront to put up a half decent fight on the first day. When Cowan & Warner stayed for a couple of overs, the pitch looked like a batting paradise. It almost seemed like 2 different teams playing on 2 different pitches. Australia were off to a flyer, with their 50 coming up in 7 overs, & Warner's 50 coming of 36 balls. Warner was in brutal mood to punish an uninspired bunch of Indian bowlers. Their line was way off the target, and the width given was gleefully accepted by the Aussie openers. Australia rocketed to their 100 in 14 overs, looked like the batsmen were missing the Big Bash League. Soon after that, the murderous Warner brought up his century in 69 balls, the 4th fastest test century. 

This day was not short of any humiliation for team India, as they were treated with sheer disdain by the ruthless Australians. Both, the batsmen & the bowlers failed to create a mark on the 1st day, more so leaving a huge dent for their chances of winning this test. But this being the game of glorious uncertainties, and me being the ever hopeful Indian fan, would always wait for the next day to see, If there's anything for me to cheer about. 

DAY 1 - It's just one team & it's Australia.