India's fabulous comeback in the Perth Test match shows the determination that this team possesses. The Test is barely two days old, yet this team that looked uncertain and tentative against New Zealand, appears to have put that away as a bad dream and are waking up to a new dawn. The inspiration for this has come from Jasprit Bumrah. Captaining the side in the absence of Rohit Sharma, he has taken calls that have shown his confidence in his batting unit. Despite being a fast bowler himself, he wasn’t tempted to field first as there was quite a healthy grass cover on the pitch. Instead, he opted to bat, first telling his batters that despite their lack of runs against New Zealand, he expected them to get over it and make a contribution. The batters tried in the first innings, but it was an uphill battle as the pitch held too many surprises and the Australian fast bowlers used it smartly to restrict the total to 150. That early dismissal turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Bumrah, along with his fast bowling partners Mohd Siraj and Harshit Rana, could still use the pitch to push Australia into a corner.

Pitch easing up

There was some resistance the next morning from Starc and Hazlewood, but that also showed that the pitch was easing up. Then, the heavy roller used by Bumrah made the pitch lose a lot of its sting and so the openers could ease themselves after a testing opening spell from Starc, Cummins and 
Hazlewood and score much more freely as they settled in. Taking the lead however big or small was also a psychological boost to the team.
India will need to set more than 350 to chase for the Aussies as the pitch will get a bit more easier for the Aussies too. Not having Jadeja or Ashwin may be a factor if Bumrah can’t effect the early breaks as he did in the first innings. While the pitch may not turn square, it will still help the spinners a bit. Then with the heat of Perth, it’s impossible for the fast bowlers to bowl long spells. There could be a partnership too and so one of them to support Washington Sundar would have been perfect.