In conditions where the ball nipped off the seam consistently, Australia went into the lunch interval on day 1 of the World Test Championship final against India at The Oval as the happier of the two sides. At the break, they were 73 for 2.
India, who opted to bowl in good conditions for pace bowling, immediately found movement off the seam to trouble the Australian openers – Usman Khawaja and David Warner. Mohammed Siraj was the one to strike as he employed the three-quarter-seam ball to nip one away from Khawaja and take the edge. KS Bharat duly pouched the catch behind the stumps. Despite losing a wicket in the first few overs, David Warner (43, 60 balls, 8×4) played with a sense of purpose and kept the scorecard ticking over.
In the sixth over, when Siraj offered some width, Warner carved one over the slip cordon. In the 11th over, Warner took advantage of a short ball that didn’t have much venom from Mohammed Shami to crack the pull. Warner also took a toll on Umesh Yadav’s bowling by landing the cuts and punches. In fact, in his second over, Umesh ended up giving away 16 runs, as the pressure was released on the Australian batters.
At the other end, barring the occasional punch down the ground, Marnus Labuschagne was more circumspect as he looked to collect runs in a diet of singles and twos. He also survived a couple of LBW reviews while facing Shardul Thakur. Shardul, who used the three-quarter-seam effectively, then made the breakthrough, with Warner losing his wicket via a strangle down the leg side. Warner had done all the hard work to get through the tricky first hour, but the ball moved off the seam appreciably.
For India, Siraj perhaps was the best of the four seamers in the first session. Shardul also looked in good rhythm. Meanwhile, Shami pitched it a tad short and beat the bat quite a few times – in the past too he has been guilty of bowling slightly short in English conditions.
Brief scores: Australia 73/2 (David Warner 43; Mohammed Siraj 1-16, Shardul Thakur 1-16) v India