India vs Australia, 2nd Test Day 1, Quick Singles: India survive early Gabba test

Only one wicket, a good 89 runs on the board and the first session well and truly went India's way.

Murali Vijay looked solid in the morning session of the day’s play. (Source: AP)

Bouncy Gabba. Speedy Gabba. Pacy Gabba. Fiery Gabba. A ground where Australia have enjoyed dominance. Complete dominance. A ground where Mitchell Johnson rediscovered himself against England last year. A ground where visiting teams have found the going tough.

All the build-up, pre-match talk, history didn’t affect captain cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni one bit. The coin went for the toss, and Dhoni, after winning it, chose to bat first. The Indian skipper was not going to switch to defensive mode. Especially after the bold statement India made in the Adelaide Test.

India were batting, and Australian bowlers would have been licking their fingers after getting the first hit on the lively Gabba strip, which was not quite the strip we know but still promised enough early bite.

Solid, fluent, smart

Indian openers looked assured. They were leaving the ball well, looked very determined and showed a lot of character against the Aussie attack. While Murali Vijay was a bit scratchy to start with, Shikhar Dhawan sprung a surprise during his brief stay in the middle.

Dhawan was very confident around the off-stump. The aggressive southpaw knew where his guard was and left balls close to the stumps confidently. The odd one did kick off the surface but the duo dropped their wrists with utmost ease.

The team score was past 50, and the visitors would have heaved a sigh of relief! A little monkey off the back. The openers are finally up and going…

Dhawan throws it away

For 70 long minutes, he shouldered arms to deliveries outside the off-stump. For a change, it was Vijay who was doing the bulk of the scoring and Dhawan was happy to see his partner do what he would have loved to do.

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It was a different Dhawan on exhibition in Brisbane today. A Dhawan who was willing to spend time in the middle, a Dhawan who was ready to bat for hours and hours. Just when everything seemed going India and Dhawan’s way, the Delhi Dasher lashed hard on a short and wide Mitchell Marsh delivery only to edge it to Brad Haddin behind the stumps.

A 39-ball 24, without any hits to the fence, and Dhawan, after doing all the hard work, made the long long walk back to the hut.

Modern-day captaincy

There is something about these young captains which excites cricket fans and spectators around the globe. They do something different from the template, make some bold statements and keep the opposition guessing.

After seeing captain Virat Kohli in the Adelaide Test, it was time for Steve Smith, the 25-year-old skipper. The way Smith rotated his bowlers was a surprise. As many as five bowlers were used in the morning session.

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The bowlers were used in short bursts, much like the way they are used in the shorter format. This was during the time of the day where there is some purchase for the bowlers, but it will be interesting to see how he uses his resources in the remaining sessions. How often he would use Nathan Lyon? How he would use Mitchell Johnson? We would know in a couple of hours.

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