Adelaide Test: How Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill loosened India’s control on Day 1 with two indecisive shots | Cricket News

Shubman Gill was eating a banana when Virat Kohli walked into bat as there was a short delay with the third umpire checking the validity of the catch that dismissed KL Rahul. Soon, both would yield their wickets to mini brain-fades and India began to wobble on the slippery peel at Adelaide. Those two wickets meant the difference between the team taking control of the opening day’s play at Adelaide, and now waiting for their bowlers to affect another jail-break.
It was an odd little innings from Virat Kohli. Australia’s plan against him was simple and obvious. His response wasn’t. They had two backward points and a gully for him and Scott Boland slipped a length ball wide outside off stump. He was still yet to get off the mark, it was the fourth ball he was facing, and he went chasing. Unsurprisingly, it flew off the edge but somehow eluded both point fielders. It was a shot as if the fallow years of the recent past with that kind of line never happened. As if there weren’t two backward points in place. Over the years, his philosophy for prepping for a game involved not falling prey to self-doubts. His pre-game visualisations would have him pinging the gaps, not edging to the catchers. But when the run-tap turned dry, if there was one shot he had to shelve, it was that chasing down deliveries too far outside off. And he did. Perhaps, the Perth hundred had revived his confidence and wanting to impose himself against the Aussies. Maybe.
Couple of deliveries later, Boland came closer to the off stump and Kohli unfurled an authoritative extra-cover drive for three runs. Beyond the boundary, in the stands, a large Indian flag fluttered. India were comfortably placed at 77 for 2 in 20 overs at that point.

Mitchell Starc sends Virat Kohli packing!#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/2AzNllS7xT
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 6, 2024
Mitchell Starc’s first delivery of the next over was a regulation angler from a left-armer. On a length, slipping away towards the ‘keeper; a relatively no-fuss ball. But Kohli was in a mood to fuss. His intention thus far had been to strike the ball. At this moment, he was caught in two minds: to leave or to play. There wasn’t width like the first Boland delivery he had gone chasing. There wasn’t an incoming line like the second Boland delivery he creamed through covers. And he decided to withdraw his bat from the line, but a tad too late, and the edge was pouched Steve Smith at second slip. Kohli had a look at the pitch, a look at his bat as he trudged back.
Six balls later, it was Gill’s turn. It was a pretty full delivery from Boland, who throughout the day showed the knack of hitting the ideal line and length. There was no real venom in the ball, but the length was a bit unusual than the norm from Boland who had been generally hitting the deck.

🚨 BGT 🚨
Scott Boland takes the wicket of Shubman Gill#INDvAUS #AUSvsIND #BGT2024 #PinkBallTest #ShubmanGill #scottboland #AUSvIND #INDvsAUS #WTC25 #cricketupdatespic.twitter.com/wOr0pjtCSC
— Sporcaster (@Sporcaster) December 6, 2024
Through his innings, Gill had applied a simple technique: A press back and across that would almost get him around the off and middle stump line; from there he would either press forward or stay there to block or punch. He had played many a sweet shot: the short-arm jab through point, the on-the-up off drive and one sweet extra-cover drive off Starc. There was also some looseness on view, especially with the attempted slice-drives through point that caught the edge but plummeted through empty space a couple of times.
He was almost on the off-stump line to this rather full ball from Boland and for some reason, he went totally across the line. He could have pinged the gaps in the V on the off, but he went for a very casual-looking flick, played all around the ball, and was trapped lbw in front of the stumps.

Even KL Rahul’s dismissal before these two came against the run of play. India were sitting pretty at 69/1, after Rahul had recovered from being caught behind off a no-ball and a drop catch Usman Khawaja, both in Boland’s first over. A ball that kicked up a bit in the off-stump corridor from Starc had him in two minds and the resultant poke was taken very neatly a diving Nathan McSweeney at backward point.
But it was the two dismissals that followed that hurt India most. Suddenly India were 81 for 4 at lunch, and never looked in control upon resumption as Australia began to target the stumps more, had the pink ball snipe around a bit. India lost steam.
Jasprit Bumrah and Co couldn’t quite pull off the Perth trick again. They did not allow Australia to get off to a run-away start, but neither did they attack them enough. Even Bumrah was a tad short or outside off, and the openers Usman Khawaja and McSweeney could leave or pat down. Sure, there were a few play-and-misses but that was to be expected with the pink ball under lights.
But the main error of the day was perhaps those two unconvincing half-shots from two batsmen who should have known better. And their pained faces as they walked back said they did know it too. Sometimes, that’s how things roll.