Aus vs Ind: Carnage at Oval as India dismissed for lowest Test score in its history
None of India's batsmen, including the prolific Virat Kohli, managed to get into double figures in the second innings
- India's innings score of 36 their lowest in 544 cricket tests since 1932
- Pacemen Josh Hazlewood (5-8) and Pat Cummins (4-21) did the damage
- The margin of victory will be a hefty blow to India's morale
Aussies crushed India with an eight-wicket win on Saturday in the first Test at Adelaide after the Virat Kohli-led side bundled out for 36, their lowest innings score in 88 years of test cricket.
Hazlewood and Pat Cummins (4-21) turned a tight test on its head in a devastating spell of pace bowling to open the third day of the day-night test, ripping through the much vaunted Indian batting line-up in less than two hours.
Australia chased down the victory target of 90 runs for the loss of Matthew Wade (33) and Marnus Labuschagne (6) to take a 1-0 lead in the series with tests to come in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Opener Joe Burns gave his confidence a much-needed boost with an unbeaten 51, including a six to secure the victory, while Steve Smith added a single to help get the hosts across the line before the second break of the day.
The margin of victory will be a hefty blow to India's morale as well as their hopes of repeating their maiden test series triumph in Australia two years ago.
None of India's batsmen, including the prolific Virat Kohli, managed to get into double figures in the second innings -- only the second time that has happened to any team in a test match.
Their innings score was the lowest in 544 tests going back to 1932 -- worse than their previous low of 42 against England at Lords in 1974 -- and only two countries have managed fewer runs in the long history of the format.
Lowest innings totals in test cricket
- 26 - New Zealand v England at Auckland, March 1955
- 30 - South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Feb 1896
- 30 - South Africa v England at Birmingham, June 1924
- 35 - South Africa v England at Cape Town, April 1899
- 36 - South Africa v Australia at Melbourne, Feb. 1932
- 36 - Australia v England at Birmingham, May 1902
- 36 - India v Australia at Adelaide, Dec. 2020
- 38 - Ireland v England at Lord's, July 2019
- 42 - New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, March 1946
- 42 - Australia v England in Sydney, Feb. 1888
The tourists will already be without Kohli for the rest of the series as the skipper returns home for the birth of his first child but they will also now be sweating on the fitness of Mohammed Shami.
The paceman took a blow to the forearm from a short Cummins delivery and was unable to bat on, bringing an end to India's dismal innings when he retired hurt.
The tourists had resumed on 9-1 looking to build on the first innings lead of 62 they held overnight after two well-balanced days of the pink ball contest.
Hazlewood and Cummins ripped up that script in short order with some quite brilliant bowling -- in one spell they took four wickets for no runs over 29 balls.