There were no demons in the Perth pitch, but the hosts could not cope with the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah
ore than any pitch in the world, people talk about Perth. In our collective memory, it was always the Waca, fast and furious enough for decades of sequels. These days the city’s cricket venue has hopped from the western bank of the Swan to the east at Perth Stadium, but in our collective contemporary consciousness the pitch is still essentially the Waca, spiritually the Waca.
Well, not really. There was coverage this week of young curator Isaac McDonald, belying a gruff exterior by saying how nervous he was about his surfaces before big matches. He might be struggling with his dinner looking at the scores. But from what could be seen at the ground, he has done nothing wrong. It was a pitch with good bounce and carry, lively enough to give some lateral movement: tricky while offering nothing in the realm of treachery.
Starc got opener Jashasvi Jaiswal after a poorly advised drive on the up, then worked over Devdutt Padikkal with yorkers that nearly smashed toes in between length balls past the edge. When Hazlewood finally got a chance at Padikkal he produced a work of art, bowling fuller and straighter to entice the drive, then shifting the line wider and decking it away to get the edge. An armpit length then had a wandering Virat Kohli fend to slip.
It was another perfect bit of bowling from Cummins to get Rishabh Pant edging for 37, quelling the most dangerous player as a partnership formed with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, and once the tail was docked it looked like the perfect toss to lose. But Bumrah can do other things besides make decisions after the coin comes down, shuffling in off his handful of paces before catapulting pace with a ball possessed by the slightest guidance from fingers and wrist.
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