Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar took a dig on Australian and said the green top Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) surface hasn't been a topic of debate among the former Indian players but had it been a spin-friendly pitch in India, the visitors would have gone mad about it.
"Oh, very much. Justin Langer, who's played in Australia, has said he's never seen so much grass on a pitch. But what you would have noticed is that no former Indian player has complained or whined about it. If a pitch in India is bereft of grass and looks like it's going to turn, so many former players from different parts of the world criticize our pitches. But former Indian players rarely complain because we understand the importance of adapting to overseas conditions," Gavaskar said on Star Sports when asked about the grass on the pitch.
The Day 1 saw India choosing to bat first without regular captain Rohit Sharma and were bundled out for 185 after Scott Boland picked 4-31 while Mitchell Starc bagged three scalps to wrap the visiting side on a paltry total.
Openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal fell early, and Shubman Gill, playing in place of the rested Rohit, and Virat Kohli too could not contribute much. During the batting collapse, Rishabh Pant emerged as a ray of hope, absorbing the pressure from Australia's relentless bowling.
Pant weathered a few painful blows to the biceps, helmet, and abdomen, which saw him being looked after by the team physio quite frequently. While he was sore, he remained his usual grit and aggression: a powerful straight six off debutant Beau Webster and a dexterous cut off Nathan Lyon. But all through his innings, he had a survival instinct working for him.
Pant's indomitable knock came to an end at 40 from 98 balls as a short-pitched delivery by Scott Boland forced a mis-timed shot, and Pat Cummins was there to gobble it at mid wicket. His 48-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja took 151 balls, giving India a glimmer of hope from the wreckage.
Boland piled on India's woes by sending debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy back to the pavilion on the very next ball for a golden duck.
"I haven't seen so much grass on a Sydney pitch in the past. Probably, the grass cover is on the higher side compared to other pitches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The batting is tough, and the visiting batters are not able to connect the bat with the ball," Gavaskar said.
In a lighter vein, he quipped, "Cows would have grazed confidently on the pitch in Sydney."
The SCG pitch resembled a few tough pitches from previous Tests. Gavaskar said Pant was quite bold and accommodative in contrast to the other match played.
"Rishabh Pant is putting his body on the line for India, and that's exactly what you need to do on a pitch like this, where tough questions will be asked. It's easy to underestimate how challenging it is. Look at the previous Test - this one is nastier," he added.
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