Ashwin spins India to victory inside three days in Nagpur Test against Australia

Home team win opening match of Border Gavaskar Trophy series by innings and 132 runs

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  India's Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates after the dismissal of Australia's Matt Renshaw during the third day of the first Test at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on Saturday, February 11, 2023. AFP

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  Ravichandran Ashwin picked up five wickets to seal an innings win for India in the Nagpur Test against Australia. Getty

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  Ravindra Jadeja of India celebrates taking the wicket of Australia captain Pat Cummins. Getty

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  Mohammed Shami celebrates India's victory in the first Test. AFP

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  India's players shake hands with the Aussies after the conclusion of the first Test. AFP

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  Australia's Nathan Lyon is bowled. AP

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  India's Axar Patel scored a fine fifty. AP

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  Australia's Todd Murphy, centre, picked up seven wickets on debut. AP

Ravichandran Ashwin showed why the Australians went to great lengths to train specifically for him as the off-spinner took five wickets in a comprehensive innings victory for India in the first Test on Saturday.

Ashwin picked up 5-37 to bowl the Aussies out for just 91, with the visitors losing all 10 wickets in one frenetic session. The hosts thus won the Nagpur Test by an an innings and 132 runs inside three days to take a 1-0 lead in the four-Test Border Gavaskar Trophy series.

Australia had hired a net bowler whose action was similar to Ashwin's, but the original proved to be far more lethal than the imitation as India's spinners proved almost unplayable on a spin friendly surface.

Steve Smith was left stranded on 25 after Ashwin, who took eight wickets in the match, triggered a batting collapse.

Ashwin got appreciable drift, turn and bounce as he sent back Usman Khawaja (five), David Warner (10) and Matt Renshaw (two).

Jadeja, who grabbed five in the first innings, took two wickets including Marnus Labuschagne trapped lbw for 17 with a delivery turned square.

Shami bowled Nathan Lyon for the ninth wicket to extend the session and finished the job when he trapped Scott Boland lbw.

Smith could have been the final wicket to fall when Jadeja bowled him with an arm ball for the second time in the Test but it turned out to be a no-ball.

Ashwin ruled the afternoon session to run through the Australian batting, which fell flat on a pitch where India's tail including Axar Patel (84) and Mohammed Shami (37) scored handsomely in the first session.

India had earlier put the match beyond Australia by scoring 400 in the morning session for lead of 223.

Debutant spinner Todd Murphy was the tourists' sole saving grace, adding two more wickets on Saturday morning to return figures of 7-124.

Murphy, who on Friday became the youngest Australian spinner to bag five in his first Test, bowled Jadeja for 70 early in the morning session to end an 88-run eighth-wicket partnership with Patel.

Jadeja was named player of the match for picking seven wickets and scoring a half-century.

“It feels amazing to come back after five months and score runs, take wickets, and give your 100 percent,” he said. “I bat at a crucial position and try not to change many things. While bowling, I was trying to keep it at the stumps so that the batsmen make mistakes."

Australia captain Cummins said the wicket was not unplayable.

“Playing the spinners was always going to be hard work,” Cummins said. “The wicket spun [in the first innings] but wasn’t unplayable. We should have scored 100 more runs (then). A couple batsmen did get starts, but they needed to score big. Todd Murphy was fantastic with the ball.”