Spinners help India take centre stage: How opening day of Nagpur Test played out

INDIA V AUSTRALIA SCORECARD

Jadeja celebrated his return to Test cricket after a five-month layoff with a 5/47 against Australia, which helped India bowl out the tourists for 177.

In response, India stood at 77/1 at the end of day one.

Australia are the 34-year-old left-arm spinner's favourite opponent in Tests. The all-rounder has 68 wickets against them, his most against a single opponent, at an average of 18.16. This was Jadeja's 11th five-for in Test cricket, and his fourth five-wicket haul against the tourists.

Amongst his victims was Australia batting star, Steve Smith, who was bowled off a ripsnorter that beat the batter’s defences. Jadeja has now accounted for Smith on five occasions, and in Nagpur he was one of four top-six batters that Jadeja removed in an outstanding individual display.

Before the Test, Jadeja had told BCCI.tv about how excited he was to make a comeback.

“I am very excited and feel good about wearing the Indian jersey after five months. I feel blessed to have been given a second chance. It gets very frustrating if you are out of the game for more than five months, and the journey was full of ups and downs," Jadeja added. “The Physio and trainer at the NCA worked quite a bit on my knee, and gave a lot of their time to me.”

Ashwin got into the act after Smith’s wicket, removing the aggressive Alex Carey, beating his reverse sweep to bowl him around the legs.

This was Ashwin’s 450th Test wicket in Tests. He is the ninth bowler and third off-spinner to achieve this landmark. The off-spinner finished with 3/42 in the first innings.

Earlier in the morning, India made early inroads at the VCA Stadium, claiming the wickets of David Warner and Usman Khawaja in the first 13 deliveries, and threatened to pin Australia down at 2/2.

The key partnership of Marnus Labuschagne and Smith dug in for the tourists in response, surviving up to the lunch break at 76/2. But the stand was broken during a skilled passage of play from the left-arm orthodox Jadeja.

For all the talk of the Nagpur surface, it appeared to be normal transmission out in the middle, with the biggest surprises of the day perhaps coming at the toss.

Many would have expected Travis Head to feature in a counter-attacking response in the second session, but Pat Cummins' team sheet had the left-hander out of the side, with Peter Handscomb named at number six, a spot below Renshaw.

For India, KL Rahul beat Shubman Gill to the opener's spot in a nod to experience, with white-ball specialist Suryakumar Yadav included for his Test debut, as predicted by former coach Ravi Shastri on the most recent episode of The ICC Review.

India's openers gave their team a solid start, adding 76 for the first wicket.

Rohit Sharma took the aggressor's role, hitting nine fours and a six, in his 56*, particularly targeting senior bowlers Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins.

Debutant Todd Murphy was successful in prying out Rahul right before the day's end, but India will resume just 100 runs behind on day two.