However, Ravichandran Ashwin proved unplayable on a 3rd day Nagpur pitch. The 36-year-old equalled Anil Kumble's record of most 5-fers on Indian soil as he grabbed the important wickets of both openers, Usman Khawaja (1) and David Warner (1), along with Matt Renshaw (2), Peter Handscomb (6), & Alex Carey (10). Apart from Ashwin, Jadeja and Shami managed 2 wickets each in the 2nd innings while Axar Patel scalped one wicket.
In the first innings, Australia were bowled out for just 177 runs as comeback man Ravindra Jadeja picked up a 5-wicket haul. Ashwin also picked up 3 wickets while Marnus Labuschagne remained the top scorer with 49 runs.
In reply, Indian captain and opener Rohit Sharma scored his 9th Test ton while Jadeja (70), Axar (84) and even Mohammed Shami (37) at the end contributed to taking the Indian total to 400. Earlier, Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss & opted to bat first against India in the 1st Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. This match was played at VCA Stadium, Nagpur.
