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India

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IPL, international cricket or other franchise leagues – we’ve got it all covered in our latest newsletter

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Sri Lanka tour of New Zealand, 2023

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The Cricket.com Weekly - Edition 23

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2022 was a season to forget for Mumbai, but by the looks of it, 2023 may not be very different

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IPL 2023: Mumbai brace for a turbulent season 

It was only time before <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4555/ravichandran-ashwin/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ravichandran Ashwin</a> returned to the familiar shores, of topping the ICC Test bowler rankings, with his consistent display. Following yet another fruitful outing against Australia, the all-rounder has risen back to No.2, 21 rating points behind Australian skipper and Test No.1 bowler, Pat Cummins.&nbsp;The off-spinner played a crucial part in India&rsquo;s win in Nagpur, with figures of 3/42 and 5/37 across the two innings. Elsewhere, West Indies spinner, Gudakesh Motie has made a massive jump to 46th place, after just three Tests. The reason: his 19 Test wickets against Zimbabwe across the Test series, that has enabled the spinner to move 77 places up.&nbsp;<div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 641px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1626084183008333826&lang=en&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fconsole.incdcdev.com%2Farticles%2Fedit%2Fravichandran-ashwin-rises-to-second-spot-on-icc-test-bowler-rankings-1676524252397&sessionId=1d5da8c31860ccfbb199d753667fb209064da5f9&theme=light&widgetsVersion=aaf4084522e3a%3A1674595607486&width=550px" data-tweet-id="1626084183008333826"></iframe></div>On the batting front of things, it was a one-man display in Nagpur, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3852/rohit-sharma/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rohit Sharma</a>. The home-boy scored a scintillating century on a surface that others found daunting. That has helped the opener jump from 10th place to make a surge into the top ten, at eight. Contrastingly, David Warner and Usman Khawaja paid prices for their terrible run in Nagpur.&nbsp;While Warner has fallen six places, to 20th, Khawaja has dropped outside the top nine, at tenth following scores of 1 and 5 in the Nagpur Test. Windies skipper and pillar of their batting strength, Kraigg Brathwaite has moved to 21st place, after his 182 against Zimbabwe whilst his fellow opener, Tagenarine Chanderpaul has jumped to 58th place.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma too made a jump, from 10th to 8th in the latest ICC batter rankings

Ravichandran Ashwin rises to second spot on ICC Test bowler rankings

Following India&#39;s victory in the first Test against Australia in Nagpur, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3852/rohit-sharma/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rohit Sharma</a>, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4555/ravichandran-ashwin/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">R Ashwin</a>, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3850/ravindra-jadeja/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ravindra Jadeja</a> and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/62576/axar-patel/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Axar Patel</a> have made significant gains in ICC Test rankings.The aforementioned four made huge contributions in the first Test and helped India emerge victorious by <a href="https://www.cricket.com/match-score/219592/summary/1st-test-australia-tour-of-india-2023" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">an innings and 132 runs</a>.&nbsp;Indian skipper and opener Rohit slammed 120 and climbed two spots to No. 8 in the Test rankings for batters.Talking about Ashwin, the 36-year-old has climbed to the second spot in the Test bowler rankings, 21 rating points behind Australia captain Pat Cummins. The offspinner took eight wickets in the game, including a five-wicket haul in the second innings.Meanwhile, Axar took only one wicket but scored 84 runs batting at No. 9, helping himself to the seventh spot in the all-rounders&#39; rankings.Then you have Jadeja, who was playing his first international game since September 2022 due to a long-standing knee injury.&nbsp;The spin-bowling all-rounder not just took seven wickets in the game but also scored 70 runs, which not only helped him to stay on top of the rankings for all-rounders but also move up four spots to 16th among bowlers.For Australia, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/65083/marnus-labuschagne/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Marnus Labuschagne</a> and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4308/steven-smith/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Steven Smith</a> managed to retain their No. 1 and 2 spots in the rankings for batters, while <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/10048/usman-khawaja/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Usman Khawaja</a> (8th to 10th) and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/5380/david-warner/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">David Warner</a> (14th to 20th) dropped down after a couple of terrible outings in Nagpur.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel also made significant gains

Ravindra Jadeja

Steven Smith

Marnus Labuschagne

Usman Khawaja

Ashwin becomes second-ranked Test bowler

Australia&rsquo;s wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey batted with a lot of intent in the opening Test against India in Nagpur, scoring 46 runs off 39 deliveries across two innings. The left-hander played all kinds of sweeps against Indian spinners but it was the reverse sweep that led to his downfall in both innings against R Ashwin.&quot;Maybe the first innings execution (was the problem) and the second innings (I was) just trying to have a different method to the guys before me. It will be my downfall at times, I&#39;ll have success with it at times. It&#39;s finding the right balance, when is the right time to play like that. My wife&#39;s been onto me quite a bit about it so you might not see it for a little while (laughs),&rdquo; ESPNcricinfo quoted Carey as saying.&nbsp;&quot;(I was) maybe a little bit too keen to play a different style, but I guess in my first Test over here that&#39;s not a bad learning to have. Hopefully, I can find that balance along with all our players as well. We obviously want to be proactive, be calm and patient, and we had a pretty good look at that first-hand with a few of their players.&quot;This was Carey&rsquo;s first Test in India and the 31-year-old now understands the importance of being patient and playing conventional shots in these conditions. &quot;Probably you can fall into over-playing conditions and certain names and what you see before you when go out to bat as well.&quot;For myself today I went back to batting more than anything else and reacting to what&#39;s being bowled down at me and trusting that method as well. At times it might be fast-forward mode but also (Ravindra) Jadeja and Axar (Patel) showed as well you can be pretty patient.&quot;Carey&rsquo;s batting in these conditions is still a work in progress but he was brilliant behind the stumps. He even stood up to the stumps to Scott Boland and looked comfortable while keeping to Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy. &ldquo;It&#39;s exciting for me behind the stumps.&quot;The ball is going to be up, it&#39;s going to be down. I might have to keep up to some of the quicks even though they don&#39;t like it that much. It was a great first taste of it. Hopefully, we don&#39;t have to do 150 overs too many times and we can get on top of India like they did to us. I enjoyed the experience and (I&#39;m) probably expecting that type of wicket throughout the series.&quot;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The left-hander played all kinds of sweeps in Nagpur but it was the reverse sweep that led to his downfall in both innings

Alex Carey

Will be my downfall at times, will have success at times: Carey on his reverse sweeps

Heading into India, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/61998/scott-boland/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Scott Boland</a> wouldn&rsquo;t have dreamt of playing in the first Test in Nagpur, especially with <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4255/josh-hazlewood/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Josh Hazlewood </a>in the squad. But further injuries forced Australia&rsquo;s hands, as the right-arm pacer Boland was roped straight into the playing XI.&nbsp;Whilst the scoreboard won&rsquo;t paint the right picture, Boland had a spell that put India under the pump with some testing line and length. In that 17 overs, the right-arm seamer conceded just 34 runs, and at one point in that session was conceding at under run an over. But with Mitchell Starc set to return for the Delhi Test, Boland hoped that he made the selectors job a little tougher.&nbsp;&quot;I felt like I bowled well, but when you are bringing in someone like Mitchell Starc, who is a gun in these conditions and has bowled really well in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, hopefully I made the selectors job a little bit tougher than what it originally was,&quot; Boland said.&nbsp;&quot;In places like here, it is tough to judge [how you went] as a fast bowler but I think I contributed to our game plan and I played my role pretty well. I think I had a pretty good spell in conjunction with Toddy a couple of times so I was happy with how the ball came out,&rdquo; he added.It is a big headache for the Australian selectors, especially with the form of their skipper, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/56964/pat-cummins/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pat Cummins</a>. Boland remained coy of his chances, stating that it will be close to impossible for Australia to feature three pacers in Delhi, a venue that is notoriously known to aid spinners.&nbsp;&quot;We don&#39;t know. I&#39;m not sure. I haven&#39;t seen Starcy bowl. I&#39;m not sure if he&#39;s going to be right to play. I assume he is if he&#39;s over here. I don&#39;t think we&#39;re going to play three fast bowlers. There&#39;s only going to be two spots up for grabs, I reckon.&quot;During that phase where Boland was at his best, Alex Carey was keeping very close to the stumps. The seamer recalls the incident, opining that Carey was perhaps too close, and it would have been close to impossible for him to catch if the batters had a nick.&nbsp;&quot;I felt running in that they looked real close,&quot; Boland said. &quot;I think I bowled a couple of overs from the other end with the second new ball and I asked Pete [Handscomb] to come as close as he could and I was running in and I was like &#39;he&#39;s too close&#39;, even if they nick it he&#39;s not going to catch it. He was happy to do that and I just said stand where you&#39;re comfortable. If you do get an edge you want him to have a chance to catch it.&quot;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Scott Boland was impressive in the first Test in Nagpur but without a wicket against his name

Scott Boland

Hopefully I made the selectors job a little tougher: Boland

India batter <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3993/virat-kohli/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Virat Kohli&nbsp;</a>may have scored centuries in One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) centuries over the last few months but has failed to do so in the Test arena. His last ton came back in 2019 and in the first Test against Australia in Nagpur, he was dismissed by debutant Todd Murphy for just 12, caught down the leg-side.However, former India captain <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/1199/sunil-gavaskar/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sunil Gavaskar</a> believes Kohli will end his Test century drought in his hometown Delhi, the venue for the second game of the four-match series.Kohli has scored 467 runs at 77.83 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, that includes a highest score of 243 - against Sri Lanka in 2017. In fact, Kohli has scored more runs in just two other venues - Wankhede Stadium (469) and Adelaide Oval (509).&quot;See there has been just one innings and there are three more Test matches left. A player of his stature is expected to score in every match. But this was just one innings and I feel the century comeback can be a possibility at his home ground in Delhi,&quot; Gavaskar told India Today.India went 1-0 up in the series thanks to a comprehensive victory in the first game in Nagpur, going on to win by an innings and 132 runs, inside three days. Rohit Sharma scored his first century as captain and some all-round performances from Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, saw India out up 400 in reply to Australia&#39;s 177.&nbsp;The Indian bowlers were rampant once again in the second innings, bowling Australia out for just 91 - their second lowest score against India. A win in Delhi would ensure that India have one foot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which will be played in June at The Oval.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The India batter has scored 467 runs at 77.83 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, that includes a highest score of 243

Virat Kohli

Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar backs Virat Kohli to break his Test century drought in Delhi

Australia suffered an embarrassing innings and 132-run loss in the first Test against India in Nagpur on Saturday (February 11), inside three days. Many Australian batters got off to starts in the first innings but could not convert it to anything substantial, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/pat-cummins-rues-batters-not-converting-after-getting-starts-1676116519858" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">which is something skipper Pat Cummins rues</a>, as they were bowled out for 177. India got to 400 thanks to a ton by Rohit Sharma and valuable fifties down the order from Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja. Mohammed Shami too got into the act with the bat with a valuable 37.With a massive lead of 223 runs to overturn, Australia were on the back foot right away and were bundled out for just 91. However, former Australia batter <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3174/mark-waugh/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mark Waugh</a> felt that the visitors did not force the issue with the ball enough and were in fact waiting for India to make a mistake.&quot;The pitch was fresh, it looked like it was spinning a lot more. They got Jadeja out early on. You have got to give credit to Axar Patel and Mohammad Shami, they batted really well. There was a dropped catch for Shami, which was costly. I think from my point of view, Patel batted really well&quot;, Waugh said on Star Sports.&quot;I would have liked to see Pat Cummins bowl a bit more. I don&rsquo;t think they bowled enough short stuff. When the tail enders start to form a partnership and look comfortable on the crease, I believe it&rsquo;s worth to roll the dice a little bit.&quot;I know the surface is slow but never know what you can get out of it. I think Australia only bowled two or three short balls in the entire innings. I think they should have hit the pitch hard and see what happens. Maybe the Australians are guilty of not trying enough and waiting for something to happen, a mistake by the Indian batters maybe.&quot;India go 1-0 up in the four-match series, courtesy of this huge win. The two teams will lock horns in the second Test in Delhi, starting February 17. There is a high chance of Australia going in with three spinners for the game as <a href="https://www.cricket.com/news/australia-call-up-matthew-kuhnemann-for-india-tests-1676177686841" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">they have added Matthew Kuhnemann to the squad</a>.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The Aussie bowlers toiled hard for a tick under 140 overs with three India batters registering scores of over 50

Mark Waugh

Australia guilty of not trying enough: Mark Waugh on Nagpur Test defeat

Left-arm spinner <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/65047/matthew-kuhnemann/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matthew Kuhnemann</a> has been drafted into the Australia side for the Test series against India as replacement for his Queensland teammate <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/65722/mitchell-swepson/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mitchell Swepson</a>, who is heading home to Brisbane for the birth of his first child. Leg-spinner Swepson was overlooked for the first Test that Australia lost by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur inside three days.Kuhnemann&#39;s inclusion in the side will now be alongside Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, who played in Nagpur and another left-arm spinner Ashton Agar. Kuhnemann could be drafted straight into the XI alongside Lyon and Murphy depending on the surface for the second Test in Delhi, starting February 17. If Cameron Green is fit enough to bowl, Australia could very well afford to play three spinners.Australia will however be without Josh Hazlewood for the Test, but Mitchell Starc, could be in contention to stake claim to a place in the XI after missing the first Test due to injury. Moreover, Matt Renshaw who did not field during India&#39;s second innings too could be a concern for Australia. Regardless of whether Renshaw is fit for Delhi, there is certainly a case for Travis Head to return to the XI.Kuhnemann made his debut for Australia in the ODI series against Sri Lanka last June. He has six wickets in the format from four matches. However, he has played 13 first-class matches since making his debut in 2021, and has picked up 35 wickets at 34.80.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The left-arm spinner replaces Mitchell Swepson, who has flown home for the birth of his first child

Matthew Kuhnemann

Mitchell Swepson

Australia call up Matthew Kuhnemann for India Tests

<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3852/rohit-sharma/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rohit Sharma</a> might be new to leading Team India in Test cricket, but has so far won all his three matches in charge. The latest one against Australia will feel a lot more special as he scored his first-ever Test ton as captain. His 120 paved the platform for India to put up 400 and win the first Test in Nagpur by an innings and 132 runs inside three days.It was once again the Indian spinners who wreaked havoc, picking up 16 wickets between them. <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4555/ravichandran-ashwin/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ravichandran Ashwin</a> and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3850/ravindra-jadeja/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ravindra Jadeja</a> picked up five-wickets hauls in the match, while also chipping in with the bat. Rohit reveals he learnt the art of keeping the pressure on the batters when the spinners are bowling, regardless of the situation from his predecessor <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3993/virat-kohli/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Virat Kohli</a>, India&#39;s most successful captain in the format.&ldquo;When Virat was captaining, I noticed one thing, no matter if we got a wicket or not, the pressure had to be there so that the opposition made a mistake,&quot; Rohit said in the post-match press conference.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what I learnt when Virat was captaining and these guys were bowling. That&rsquo;s what I try to do now. Apply pressure and don&rsquo;t expect wickets every ball; its not going to happen like that but if it happens, nothing like it. We&rsquo;ve got to be at it, and keep putting the ball in right areas and let the pitch help you.&rdquo;Speaking of Ashwin, Rohit said he looks a different bowler every time he takes the field in Tests.&ldquo;He [Ashwin] looks a different bowler. I wouldn&rsquo;t say an improved bowler as he was always a good bowler but he looks a different bowler every time he plays Test cricket. That&rsquo;s what good cricketers do. They try and up their game and try to reach the next level,&rdquo; said Rohit.&ldquo;Ashwin has played so much cricket in India and is closing in on playing 100 Tests (89). I am pretty sure he has played most of those Tests in India and not to forget the first-class games as well before he made his debut,&rdquo; Rohit explained when asked what Ashwin did differently compared to Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy.&ldquo;A lot of cricket and overs have gone into skills and being able to do what he is doing now; to be able to extract something out of pitch, it is not easy.&rdquo; &ldquo;He can bowl that carrom ball and top spin and slider. The guy has got everything. The reason he is able to extract [so much] from the pitches is because of (the) skill-sets that he has. He is a very studious guy and likes to understand his game and take it to the next level.&rdquo;Asked how it was to lead the spin trio of Ashwin, Jadeja and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/62576/axar-patel/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Axar Patel</a>, Rohit said, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like captaining [Pat] Cummins, [Josh] Hazlewood and [Mitchell] Starc in Australia. Pretty similar. When you have the quality of Axar, Jadeja, and Ash, having played in India for so many years, playing on pitches like these, it&rsquo;s always a blessing.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Conditions are there for everyone but what they extract from those conditions make them really, really special. They have played on these pitches a lot and they know which areas to hit, how to keep applying that pressure.&rdquo;Was this Rohit&#39;s best knock in Test cricket? Or does he rate the 160 against England in a rank-turner higher?&ldquo;Honestly, I am not too much into rating one knock above the other. Every time you play a knock like that it is important, so it is unfair to put one knock above the other. Both have come under different circumstances,&quot; Rohit reckons.&ldquo;In Chennai, we were one Test match down, we had to win. And, especially in home conditions when you are one-down, you are under pressure to do things right&ldquo;Both (centuries) had their own challenges and I am very happy with the two knocks. When you come up with performances like these, you really feel good about it; it gives you lot of confidence also,&rdquo; he concluded.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

The India captain rotated his spinners extremely well as they propelled his side to a comfortable win in Nagpur

Learnt from Virat Kohli on keeping pressure up when spinners bowl: Rohit

Australia were handed a thrashing by India in the first Test in Nagpur that ended within three days. The visitors lost the game by an innings and 132 runs and go into the second Test in Delhi with a lot to ponder about. Australia captain <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/56964/pat-cummins/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pat Cummins</a> feels it boils down to the way that his team tackled the spinners against whom he reckons that his side have to be a little brave.Marnus Labuschagne with 49 in the first innings was the top-scorer for Australia across the two innings, while there were some useful contributions from Steven Smith, Pater Handscomb and also Alex Carey. Australia were bundled out for just 91 in the second innings, their lowest score in India.The spinners accounted for 16 wickets in the Test, with both <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3850/ravindra-jadeja/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ravindra Jadeja</a> and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4555/ravichandran-ashwin/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ravichandran Ashwin</a> picking up fifers.&quot;A lot of it was good bowling, two masters of their craft, fresh legs, they bowled really well. In saying that I don&#39;t think much is going to change in the next couple of games. That&#39;s what we&#39;re going to come against, so we have to find better methods. You saw Smithy and Alex Carey at times put the pressure back on the bowlers. I think it takes a bit of bravery, it&#39;s easier said than done,&quot; Cummins said at the post-match press conference.&quot;If you&#39;re just facing ball after ball and the bowler&#39;s pretty good, you&#39;re going to get one with your name on it,&quot; said Cummins.&nbsp;&quot;Again, that will be the conversation this week. If we get the same conditions, same bowlers, what are we going to do differently? I think at times probably being more proactive.&quot;Cummins further added that the loss of such magnitude was easier to recover from compared to close-fought defeats.&quot;I think sometimes it&#39;s almost easier to put behind those kinds of losses. You are looking at small margins, you have to have a hard look at your game and the big strides you need to change to give yourself the best chance next week. We&#39;ve had a really good run the last 12 months,&quot; Cummins said.&quot;There haven&#39;t been many losses in that change room. I don&#39;t think we need to reinvent the wheel, it&#39;s just tweaking different approaches to how we play and maybe particular methods.&quot;This was just Australia&#39;s second defeat in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. They were without some key players like<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/10053/mitchell-starc/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;Mitchell Starc</a>, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4255/josh-hazlewood/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Josh Hazlewood</a> and also all-rounder <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/66870/cameron-green/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cameron Green</a>, all of whom who missed out due to injuries.Giving an update on them, Cummins said, &quot;Starcy lands today or tomorrow into Delhi. I think Joshy might not be quite ready for Delhi. He&#39;s getting up and running now, he&#39;s pretty close, but I don&#39;t think he&#39;ll be quite ready for Delhi. Greeny&#39;s a bit of a wait and see. Still hoping (he could return), he&#39;s had a couple of good hits out here. He&#39;s bowling pretty good, the next couple of days we&#39;ll assess it.&quot;Australia also left many surprised when in-form Travis Head was left out of the XI but both Handscomb and Matt Renshaw found a place. Cummins however felt that they played the best XI.&quot;We were confident it was our best XI this week. We know the quality Trav is. He&#39;s a huge part of this team but we were confident in the 11 guys out there. He&#39;s been really good around the group. He&#39;s been working really hard on his game like he always does,&quot; Cummins opined.India have taken a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. The second Test in Delhi will get underway from Friday (February 17).&nbsp;Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Australia lost as many as 16 wickets to spinners in the first Test in Nagpur and will hope to put up a better showing in the remaining games

Pat Cummins

Putting pressure back on spinners takes bravery, easier said than done: Cummins

Australia lost this Test before it started. Lot of critics over the pitch, played more in their minds. Eventually, they couldn&rsquo;t last even 100 overs in the entire match. Whereas, India&rsquo;s lower order batters (7-11), batted 435 balls in one innings. On the other hand, Australia&rsquo;s entire team batted 578 balls the entire match. There were plenty of stats from the first Test:Rohit, the first all-format centurion as India captainThe Indian skipper <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3852/rohit-sharma/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rohit Sharma</a>, hadn&rsquo;t played a single Test since March 2022. In his comeback Test, it did not look like he was out for nearly a year.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676118833390-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">On a track where most of the Indian top order batters (1-6) struggled to score runs, Rohit was at his fluent best. By virtue of it, Rohit registered his ninth hundred overall, eighth at home, sixth as an opener and first as the captain of India.Thanks to that, he became the first Indian captain and fourth overall, to hit a century across all formats.Jadeja back with a bang<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/3850/ravindra-jadeja/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ravindra Jadeja</a> was also one among the returnees from this squad. Just like Rohit, Jadeja also had a fruitful comeback.With the ball, Jadeja dismissed the two set batters, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/65083/marnus-labuschagne/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Marnus Labuschagne</a> and <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4308/steven-smith/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Steve Smith</a>, in the first innings. He then went on to bag a five-for, his 11th in Tests and fourth against Australia, the most for him against a team.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676118865126-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">Then, with the bat, the sword came out when he registered yet another fifty-plus score. In Tests, this was the sixth time he had done the double of five-wicket-haul and a 50+ score. Among Indians, that&rsquo;s the joint most matches in which a player has achieved the double.Here are some add-ons. In Tests since the 20th century (1900), among bowlers who have taken 50+ wickets against Australia, his average of 18.1 is the best. &nbsp;&nbsp;In Tests since 2019, Jadeja has scored 1189 runs at an average of 47.6, and has 59 wickets at an average of 26.9. The difference of 20.7 between his batting average and bowling average, is the highest among player who have scored 500+ runs and picked up 20+ wickets.Murphy makes a mark on debutThere was a lot of talk on who would partner <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/29679/nathan-lyon/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nathan Lyon</a> in the first Test. A day before, there were signs of <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/72445/todd-murphy/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Todd Murphy</a> making the debut, and on the morning of the Test, it was confirmed. In his first Test, Murphy registered few notable records:-Murphy became the first Australian bowler to bag the first four wickets of opposition in his debut innings (first innings of debut match).-With the wicket of KS Bharat, Murphy became the second visiting spinner after <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4969/jason-krejza/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jason Krejza</a> in 2008, at the same venue, to bag a five-for on debut against India.-At the age of 22 years and 86 days (at the start of a Test match), he became the youngest Australian spinner to bag a five-wicket-haul across formats.-His spell of 7/124, is the fourth best spell by a visiting debutant against India in Tests. Overall, it is the fifth best spell against India.-In debut innings, only Bob Massie (8/84) in 1972 against England, and Krejza (8/215) in 2008 against India, had better spells than Murphy, for Australia.-In his innings, Murphy bowled 47 overs, which is the most by a visiting debutant against India. Mohammad Farooq of Pakistan in 1960, had bowled 46 overs, the most then.Ashwin on par with Anil KumbleIn the second innings, <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/4555/ravichandran-ashwin/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ashwin</a> was on the nerves of the Australian batters from the first over. From his 450th wicket in the first innings, till the five-wicket haul, here are some of the records he achieved from this Test:<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676118908264-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">-In the first innings, when Ashwin claimed the wicket of Alex Carey, he became the second fastest bowler to pick up 450 wickets in Tests.-Ashwin claimed <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/5380/david-warner/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">David Warner</a> for the 11th time in his Test career, the joint most times he has dismissed a batter. Against Ben Stokes as well, he has 11 dismissals.-Opening the innings with the ball, Ashwin registered his 150th wicket, the first spinner to bag 150 wickets as an opening bowler in Tests. In total, he has 154 wickets. Rangana Herath with 104 wickets, is the only other spinner to have 100+ wickets while opening.-In the second, when he picked up his fourth wicket, Ashwin went past <a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/1367/harbhajan-singh/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harbhajan Singh</a>&rsquo;s tally of 95, to become the second leading wicket taker in Border-Gavaskar Trophy<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676118963111-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">-With the dismissal of Carey in the second innings, through an LBW, Ashwin became the fifth spinner in Tests to bag 100+ wickets through this mode of dismissal.-In home Tests, Ashwin has 25 five-wicket hauls, which is the joint most for an Indian bowler and the joint-third most overall.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676119017080-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">-Ashwin bagged his fifth wicket in his 10th over (9.2), which is his fastest five-for in an innings. Previously, against New Zealand in 2016, he had completed his five-for in 10.1 overs.-Ashwin bowled only 12 overs for his spell of 5/37. This is the least number of overs he has bowled in an innings where has taken five or more wickets.Australia suffer a lowAfter a batting debacle in the first innings, Australia sunk even further in the second innings as they were bundled within 100 runs:-In Tests, the total of 91 is Australia&rsquo;s second lowest total against India, and their lowest in India.<img src="https://images-cricketcom.imgix.net/1676119078611-articleimg" style="width: 700px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil">-In the second innings, Australia lasted only 32.3 overs, which is the second least overs faced by them in an all-out innings in India. Their lowest came at Wankhede in 2004, when they were bundled out in 30.5 overs.-In total, Australia scored 268 runs in this match, which is their second lowest in a Test where they have lost all 20 wickets, since 2000. Their lowest (246) came in 2016, against South Africa in Hobart.-In Asian conditions, only once have they been all-out for a lower total. Against Pakistan in 1956, they were all-out for 80 in Karachi.FEW OTHER STATS<a href="https://www.cricket.com/players/11803/suryakumar-yadav/career-stats" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Suryakumar Yadav</a> became the first Indian to debut in all formats after turning 30. In Tests since 2000, he is the third oldest Indian to make a debut in Tests.None of the partnership in Australia&rsquo;s second innings touched the 20-run mark, the highest was 19 between Warner and Labuschagne for the second wicket. This is the first innings in which Australia haven&rsquo;t had a partnership of 20 or above against India.The last time they suffered this feat was in 2015 against England, in Nottingham. These are the only two instances in this century.In this match, 10 dismissals came through LBW for Australia, which is their most in a match.Powered by <a href="https://www.froala.com/wysiwyg-editor?pb=1" title="Froala Editor">Froala Editor</a>

Todd Murphy registered a spell of 7/124, the fifth best spell against India on debut

IND vs AUS Test 1st Test, Australia tour of India, 2023 - Commentary

IND VS AUS,1st Test

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