India dominated proceedings on the first day of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as they bowled out Australia cheaply and then posted a strong reply in the first innings of the first Test in Nagpur on Thursday.
A five-wicket haul on return from Ravindra Jadeja helped India bowl out the Aussies for 177 in 63.5 overs after Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Jamtha.
Jadeja, who returned to international cricket after a five-month injury layoff, bagged his 11th five-for in Tests while spin-twin Ravichandran Ashwin picked three after Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami removed the openers early in the first session to put India in the driver's seat.
"Very happy with the way I was bowling. I was enjoying my bowling. Playing after 5 months, playing Test cricket, it's tough.
"I was prepared for it and I was working hard on my fitness as well as on my skills at NCA. I played a first-class game (Ranji) after a long time and I bowled almost 42 overs. It gave me a lot of confidence to come here and play a Test match," Jadeja said after the day's play.
Rohit leads from the front
Captain Rohit Sharma then led from the front with the bat, scoring 56 before the end of day's play as India reached 77 for 1 at Stumps, still 100 runs behind the Aussies.
Fellow opener KL Rahul fell late in the day, getting out for 20 to hand debutant Todd Murphy his first Test wicket. Rohit and Ashwin then saw off the final few deliveries on Day 1 to take India to stumps in a strong position.
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