The much-awaited pink-ball Test match between India and Australia commenced today at the Adelaide Oval in front of a jam-packed stadium. Mitchell Starc was the star of the day for the hosts registering his best figures of 6/48 but interestingly, the major talking point of the day was the floodlight failure at the venue in the final session.
During Australia's innings when the lights had taken full effect, the floodlights stopped working, not once but twice, in a single over when Harshit Rana was bowling. The incident happened in the 18th over of the innings after the second delivery and just before the fifth ball. On the first occasion, the lights went off for around only 5-10 seconds but the second time, the stoppage was in minutes. For the same reason, three minutes of play was extended as well by the umpires.
However, the sudden stoppage didn't please the players in the middle with Harshit Rana also expressing his frustration. The second time when the lights went off, Rana was about to start his run-up and it disturbed him. This could be the first time that a Test match has been interrupted due to floodlight failure as ODIs and T20Is are generally played under the lights. Day-Night Tests are still not a regular fixture for all teams in their calendar or home season.
The opening day of the Test match played at the Adelaide Oval witnessed intense action. India were skittled for just 180 runs after winning the toss as Starc picked six wickets. With the ball, India tried hard but Australia made sure to not surrender the advantage like they did at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Australia are well and truly back in the series but they would be keen on not letting India make a comeback now.
