IND vs AUS 2020: India restricted to their lowest Test total in history after Shami walks off with injury

India were restricted to the lowest total in their Test history after Mohammed Shami had to walk off with an injury. The injury meant that the India scoreboard read 36/9, six runs short of the 42 they scored against England at Lord’s in 1974.

A Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins masterclass dismantled the India batting line-up early on and has put the home side in pole position when it comes to claiming victory in the first Test of the India vs Australia series.

Apart from notching up their lowest ever Test score, India registered a series of unwanted records on Day 3 of the pink-ball Test.

India collapse to Hazlewood and Cummins masterclass

It was Pat Cummins who started the show, dismissing nightwatchman Jasprit Bumrah early on. The No.1 Test bowler then continued his good run against India as he sent Cheteshwar Pujara back the pavilion as well.

Tim Paine’s decision to take Mitchell Starc off and replace him with Josh Hazlewood proved to be a masterstroke, with the Australia pacer wreaking havoc in the first session. Josh Hazlewood dismissed Ajinkya Rahane and Mayank Agarwal in his first over, with Cummins coming back to take the prized wicket of Virat Kohli.

The India batsmen didn’t seem to have any answer to Australia’s great bowling and kept departing cheaply. In the end, the visiting side was put out of their misery after a Pat Cummins bounder hit Mohammed Shami on his bowling arm, with the bowler getting out retired hurt to end India’s innings at 36-9/

India register their lowest score in Test cricket history

The humongous collapse meant that India while India weren’t bowled out, their innings ended with the scoreboard reading 36-9.

This was India’s lost Test score in their history and eclipsed the previous worst 42, which they scored at Lord’s against England in 1974. There next worst score was 58 against Australia in Brisbane in 1947, while their third-lowest score was also a 58 that was scored by the side against England at Manchester in 1952.

Absolute carnage.India’s lowest ever innings total.The equal 5th lowest of any nation in the history of Tests.#AUSvsIND

— Alister Nicholson (@AlisterNicho) December 19, 2020

The total was also the 5th lowest by any nation in the history of Test cricket, with many fans and analysts criticising India’s batting performance on Twitter. Others also slammed the India top order for giving their wickets cheaply, as they praised the Australian bowlers for their well-executed plan against the Indians.