Adelaide: The Indian cricket team endured a forgettable outing in the ongoing Pink-Ball Test against Australia, with no India batsman managing to reach the half-century mark across both innings.
This mirrors their dismal showing in the 2021 World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand in Southampton, the last instance of such a batting failure.
India’s batting struggles were epitomised by Nitish Reddy, batting at number seven, who emerged as the top scorer in both innings. His gritty effort places him among a rare group of lower-order Indian batsmen who top-scored for the team in Tests.
The list includes Chandu Borde against England at Kolkata in 1961-62, MS Dhoni against England at Edgbaston 2011, and Ravichandran Ashwin against England at Lord’s in 2018, each of whom achieved this feat while batting at No. 7 or lower.
Reddy’s resilience was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing match for India.
Australia's Pat Cummins further cemented his legacy as one of cricket's premier Test captains. Claiming his eighth five-wicket haul as skipper, Cummins is now only behind Imran Khan (12) and Richie Benaud (9) in achieving this remarkable feat. His lethal spell dismantled India's batting order, ensuring Australia's dominance in the match.
