IND vs AUS: Shami bowled Labushen, Australia score 117/3

London : Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj took the wicket in the opening spell and Shardul Thakur dismissed David Warner at the crease as Australia lost three wickets for 117 runs on the first day of the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) here on Wednesday. Warner (43 off 60 balls) and Marnus Labuschagne looked to finish the first session after dealing with challenging conditions in the first hour at ‘The Oval’. But Thakur dismissed the left-handed opener with his short ball, aiming for the ribs. Wicketkeeper KS Bharat took a good catch on the leg side.

India, as expected, won the toss and elected to bowl on a grassy pitch and cloudy weather. India decided not to include Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI which fielded a four-pacer attack consisting of Mohammed Shami, Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Thakur. Siraj and Shami kept Australia in check for the first hour, conceding only 29 runs in six overs. Siraj got more help from the pitch than Shami. Usman Khawaja (zero in 10 balls) has a normal record in England, he made a disappointing start to the tour and returned to the pavilion after touching the bat on the ball going outside the stump of Siraj and caught behind the stump.

Trying to cement his place in the playing XI for the upcoming Ashes, Warner took advantage of the bad balls. Warner hit four fours on Umesh Yadav in the 15th over. Labushen had a tough time in the beginning and Siraj’s fast ball hit his left thumb. He then survived two close DRS decisions to lbw off the bowling of Thakur at the end of the session. The Australian team did not want to lose any more wickets in the session but Warner was caught by the wicketkeeper while trying to pull the ball taking an outside angle from Thakur. Bharat took this catch while diving.