Rahane's captaincy, bowlers' show get Australia out for 195; India 36/1 on Day 1

Jasprit Bumrahs menace was matched by Ravichandran Ashwins guile as an inspired India led by Ajinkya Rahane shot out Australia for a subpar 195 to dominate the opening day of the second Test here on SaturdayIndia then lost an outofform Mayank Agarwal 0 to Mitchell Starc but debutant Shubman Gill 28 batting survived a hostile spell to hit some delectable boundaries in the day end score of 36 for 1 in 11 oversGiving him company was the seasoned Cheteshwar Pujara 7 battingAs much as the day belonged to the Indian bowling unit for another firedup show new captain Rahane deserved equal credit for marshalling his resources to perfection during the 723 overs that Australia battedBumrah 456 in 16 overs and Ashwin 335 in 24 overs were the stars but debutant Mohammed Siraj 240 in 15 overs also did his bit repaying the faith shown in him with wickets of Marnus Labuschagne 48 and Cameron Green 12 with the old ballHowever the Test series is increasingly looking like Ashwins paradise as he once again made the oppositions best batsman Steve Smith 0 look ordinary exploiting the turn and bounce that the first day of the MCG track offeredIt was business as usual for Bumrah as he beat the bat and got those breakthroughs just when it mattered on a pitch that had retained moisture As it turned out Rahane didnt lose a bad tossThe Indian team looked way more galvanised despite being without regular skipper Virat Kohli who is on paternity leave Some great catches were taken and the intent was way more visibleRahanes first punt was introducing Ashwin inside the first hour of play after Bumrah had forced Joe Burns 0 to nick one to Rishabh PantAshwin who varied the pace of his deliveries cleverly got some turn and bounce straightaway as he drew Matthew Wade into coming down the track and skying one for Indias best fielder Ravindra Jadeja to take a welljudged catch running backwardsAfter bowling one that jumped and turned beating Smith and Pant Ashwin kept the next a tad straighter and the former Australian skippers glance was pouched by Cheteshwar Pujara at leg gullyAll this while Bumrah was beating the bat at the other handInterestingly Rahane didnt give the debutant a single over before lunch break as he knew that Sirajs strength is generating pace and movement with seminew and old ballSiraj initially bowled a bit short at Labuschagne and Travis Head 38 off 92 balls as they added 86 runs for the fourth wicketIt was Bumrah who provided the post lunch breakthrough with a delivery that held its line and the lefthanders thick edge was taken by Rahane at gullySirajs maiden wicket was a lucky one as the ball was drifting down the legside which Labuschagne tried to whip but Gill stationed at backward square leg snapped it inches off the groundThe Hyderabad pacers second wicket was a much fuller ball with a hint of inward movement that caught Green plumb infrontSkipper Tim Paine 13 couldnt script a rescue act like Adelaide as a classical offbreak saw him guide one straight into the hands of Hanuma Vihari at backward square legBumrah didnt take much time after that as he and Ravindra Jadeja 115 polished off the tail in a jiffyDuring the final hour of the day Gill showed what the Indian cricket can expect of him in the new decade He disolayed positive intent and some dazzling strokes that would certainly leave fans yearning for more in the coming daysAn offdrive off Pat Cummins a punch through covers and a flick off Starc were exhilaratingThe cover drive off Nathan Lyon had class written all over itIndia trail 01 in the series after going down by eight wickets in the opening daynight Test in Adelaide The visitors were dismissed for their lowest Test score of 36 during that game