Nathan McSweeney after getting out in the India vs Australia 1st Test.© AFP

India’s stand-in skipper for the opening Test of the series against Australia, Jasprit Bumrah, delivered triple blows to the hosts after his team could only put a total of 150 runs on the board. Bumrah’s fist victim came in the form of Nathan McSweeney who was dismissed LBW for 10 runs. However, the initial call from the on-field umpire was of not-out. Bumrah was interested in going for DRS but had his doubts. This is when Virat Kohli helped him with his views.

The stump mic caught the chatter between the players, with Bumrah saying, “Close hai. (It’s close).” Wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant, however, wasn’t as convinced. But, Kohli’s advice seems to have convinced Bumrah to go ahead.

“Pad pe lagi hai pehle, lele lele. (It has hit the pad first, take it take it),” Kohli told Bumrah.

“” they said & @Jaspritbumrah93 gets the debutant Nathan McSweeney!

What a delivery to get the breakthrough!

#AUSvINDOnStar 1st Test, Day 1, LIVE NOW! #AUSvIND #ToughestRivalry pic.twitter.com/axdidpP8GS

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) November 22, 2024

The entire Indian team rejoiced as three reds popped up on the giant screen when the decision was reviewed.

Debutant Nitish Reddy’s gutsy 41 and Rishabh Pant’s brief daredevilry proved to be fleeting silver lining in an otherwise batting no-show by India as they were shot out for a lowly 150 at tea. Captain Jasprit Bumrah’s decision to opt for batting on a bouncy green top can be debated in times to come.

Pant (37 off 78 balls), whose audacious no-look six over backward square leg off Pat Cummins, had everyone in awe, found a gritty customer in Reddy as they added 48 runs for the seventh wicket after the India’s top-order were done in by double whammy of extra bounce and seam movement by Mitchell Starc (2/14 in 11 overs) and Josh Hazlewood (4/29 in 13 overs).

While KL Rahul (26 off 74 balls) was ready to grind it out before getting a contentious caught behind decision, young guns like Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) and Devdutt Padikkal (0) looked completely out of place during a brilliant opening spell bowled in tandem by Starc and Hazlewood. Virat Kohli (5) looked a pale shadow of the player, who visited these shores in 2011-12, 2014-15 and 2018-19 as he was done in by a short ball from Hazlewood.

With PTI Inputs

Rookie opener Nathan McSweeney will be entering his maiden Test series with a lot riding on him, but Australia captain Pat Cummins on Thursday offered him some comforting advice, saying he should focus on playing his natural game and not “imitate” his predecessor — the great David Warner. McSweeney, 25, will be filling the spot left vacant by the retirement of Warner earlier this year and partner Usman Khawaja at the top of the order in the marquee Border-Gavaskar Test series against India starting here on Friday.

“Davey is very hard to replace, in many ways. I think the most important thing for someone like Nath, who is coming in, is just to play his own game. He doesn’t need to strike it (at), you know, 80 like David did, if that’s not his game,” Cummins said at the pre-match press conference.

“So for them (McSweeney and Khawaja), I would love to see them bring the best out of each other, they have played a little bit and batted a bit together for Queensland. But yeah, I think for both of them, it’s about bringing what they bring to the table.

“You know, for Uzzie, it’s about getting the bowlers to come back and back and back again. And I think Nath is pretty similar in that regard,” Cummins added.

A big fan of the legendary Ricky Ponting, McSweeney has been tasked to open on his Australia debut despite not being a specialist in that position but he remains unfazed ahead of his big test in the series-opener against India.

McSweeney was picked in the squad for the first Test ahead of regular openers including Marcus Harris.

He got a national call-up following a decent outing against India A earlier this month. He bats at number three in domestic cricket.

He faced the formidable trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in the Australia nets here on Monday and looked in control.

Raised in Brisbane, McSweeney played his junior cricket for Caboolture before graduating to Premier Cricket club Northern Suburbs where he debuted in first grade aged 16.

Former Australian opener David Warner backed his replacement Nathan McSweeney to get the “highest score” in the much-anticipated Test summer and urged everyone to be patient with the youngster. The 25-year-old South Australian batter is one of the most talked about players as the first Test at Perth comes closer. Given a gigantic task of taking over the opening reigns from legendary Warner, the batter would no doubt be raring to go.

McSweeney won a “bat-off” for the opening spot during the recently-concluded Australia A-India A series, top-scoring with 166 runs in two matches, including a match-winning 88 in the first game. He managed to outdo several competitors like U19 sensation Sam Konstas, domestic cricket veterans and once Aussie Test batters Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft to win a ticket to the high-profile series against India.

McSweeney has a solid first-class record, having made 2,252 runs in 34 matches at an average of 38.16, with six centuries and 12 fifties. His best score is 127*.

Speaking to Fox Cricket, Warner said about McSweeney that he has got a fine technique.

“McSweeney has got a good technique and we know he can bat for long periods of time,” Warner stated.

It is a great time for him to come in; it is a big series,” Warner continued.

The batting legend said that McSweeney has technique and patience to partner with Usman Khawaja and score big runs and is looking forward to seeing how he plays.

“I have pencilled him (McSweeney) in for the highest run score this summer, so I am looking forward to that. I am also looking forward to seeing how he adapts batting with someone like Usman Khawaja as well, because it is a partnership that you have to build,” he added.

Warner urged the selectors and everyone else to be patient with the youngsters and give them “two summers”.

“We have just got to be patient with all the guys that are coming through now. Uzzie (Usman Khawaja) is touching on 38 now as well, he has probably got another 12 to 18 months to go” said Warner.

“He is (McSweeney) 25 years of age; you’ve got to give guys a crack … it would be exciting just to see him score some runs first and establish himself — but if he does not just give him some time, give him maybe two summers,” he added.

McSweeney’s strong run in first-class cricket this year could make selectors give him a long rope in case of failures. In eight matches this year, he has made 718 runs in 16 matches, averaging 51.28, with two centuries and five fifties. His best score is 127*.

After the series opener in Perth on November 22, the second Test, featuring the day-night format, will take place under lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10.

Fans will then turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test from December 14 to 18.

The traditional Boxing Day Test, scheduled from December 26 to 30 at Melbourne’s iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, will mark the series’ penultimate stage.

The fifth and final Test will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, promising an exciting climax to a highly anticipated series.

India’s squad for Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.

Australia squad for the first Test: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.

File photo of Nathan McSweeney© AFP

File photo of the Indian team.© AFP

Veteran Australian opener Usman Khawaja backed his new opening partner Nathan McSweeney, urging him to play his own game against India in Perth rather than trying to ape David Warner, who was a “special player” in his own right. Approaching his 38th birthday, Khawaja, a veteran of 73 Tests with nearly five and half thousand runs and 15 tons, also believed that needing to score runs at a quick clip is nothing but an urban myth, and advised McSweeney to just “repeat the process” which has worked for him till date.

“I don’t know where this myth started that you needed someone to score really fast. As an opener you’re trying to score runs and you’ve got five days to do it. We didn’t have one Test match go for five days, last year. Opening is as much about scoring runs and just being able to absorb that time,” Khawaja was quoted as saying by news.com.au.

Talking about Warner, Khawaja said that not everyone is as gifted as his former opening partner, who could switch gears at ease in the traditional format.

“Davey (Warner) was special. He could score runs while absorbing. He could sometimes score 100 of 100 balls but he didn’t do it every time. Sometimes it took him 170, 180 balls to get that 100.

“He was consistent, he was out there, he was setting a platform for guys later to come in and score runs. Those two are both very important things,” Khawaja said.

Khawaja is confident that besides scoring runs at a fair clip, McSweeney also has the ability to bat time.

“I think Nathan does that really well. He can score runs, but he can also bat time. They’re really important facets to have in Test cricket if you want to set games up.” Khawaja warned McSweeney that there were “no guarantees in cricket” but said that the 25-year-old batter didn’t “have to do anything different” in the Test arena.

“You just try to repeat the process. . The only thing that really changes is that you have a few more people watching. Not many people watch Shield cricket.” Khawaja seems confident that McSweeney can handle the demands of an extremely high-skilled format like Tests.

“You always go through ups and downs in cricket, but when you look at Nathan, you look at his demeanour, you look at the way he plays, you feel that over a longer period of time that, yes, this guy will be able to handle the scrutiny of Test cricket and the pressure of Test cricket.” “Even though there are no guarantees, I’m sure the selectors have made a calculated decision with him,” Khawaj concluded.