India took two wickets in rapid succession, but only after a tumultuous first hour of the fourth Test between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday. India’s bowlers were erratic, enabling Australia to reach 54/0 in the first 14 overs of the innings.
Travis Head and Usman Khawaja dominated the proceedings as Australia tallied at a healthy run rate, exploiting an inept Indian bowling attack. They were way off goal, and what aggravated India even more was KS Bharat dropping a simple catch of Head when he was only on 7.
First 💯 for Usman Khawaja against India and what a time to get it 🙌#INDvAUS #BGT2023 #UsmanKhawaja #SteveSmith #ViratKohli #Cricket pic.twitter.com/Xv4QAtP46z
— Abdullah Liaquat (@im_abdullah115) March 9, 2023
“I’ve been to India two tours before this, and I carried the drinks for all eight Test matches." 😳
Usman Khawaja has made the most of his career revival. In fact, he has amassed the MOST Test runs in the world since January 2022 🤯
DAY 1 TALKING PTS 👉 https://t.co/xSfqohLOsV pic.twitter.com/UVec1TWOL0
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) March 9, 2023
Umesh Yadav pitched one on the fifth stump line off the fifth delivery of the sixth over. Head poked and nicked it, and the ball was carried directly to Bharat, who made a complete mess of it. Bharat completely misread a chance that should have been seized 101 times out of 100.
KS bharat drop here. You can see he takes a step to the legside. (Second photo) So already he is unbalanced, and then he doesn't quiet get to the ball, he reaches out (last photo) very tough to take a opposite step then come back in. Technical error #INDvsAUSTest #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/7pwSdIPUKu
— lucas (@LucasR32sky) March 9, 2023
The gloves were nowhere near the ball when it broke free. Captain Rohit Sharma was obviously upset, as were Bharat’s teammates. The missed chance surprised the commentators, who all expressed their surprise at the drop catch on live.
The drop fortunately did not cost Bharat and India much because Ravichandran Ashwin pounced just in time to dismiss Head for 32. One led to two as Australia increased their tally to 75/2 at lunch thanks to Marnus Labuschagne continuing to play after Mohammed Shami, who had a shaky first spell.
Here is what Dinesh Kartik, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shashtri and Mathew Hayden had to say about KS Bharat’s dropped chance –
Dinesh Kartik – He seems a little uneasy, to be honest. The ball was lower than the level of the hands. You only have to point out that the ball is swaying. doing more than he believes he’s doing. The wrists were just a little lower than they ought to be. It indicates to me that he is anxious right now.
Sunil Gavaskar – It’s as simple as they get. Of course, no recovery in Test cricket is simple. Take a peek at this, though. I was merely looking for the ball outside the stumps. It enters and descends.
Mathew Hayden – He simply placed his palms incorrectly. After finishing, he decided not to make the change. He seems to be pondering with a stubbornness despite the fact that the ball should always be here. It wasn’t, though.
Ravi Shahstri – That drop catch. A real sitter put down. A straightforward chance.
