| First Test, Nagpur (day three): |
| Australia 177 & 91: Smith 25*; Ashwin 5-37 |
| India 400: Rohit 120, A Patel 84, Jadeja 70; Murphy 7-124 |
| India won by an innings and 132 runs |
| Scorecard |
India beat Australia by an innings and 132 runs inside three days in the first Test of their four-match series.
Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took 5-37 as the tourists, needing 223 to make India bat again, were bowled out for 91 in their second innings in Nagpur.
Steve Smith was left unbeaten on 25 as Australian wickets tumbled around him.
India, who began the day on 321-7, were eventually bowled out for 400, debutant Aussie spinner Todd Murphy taking two more wickets to finish with 7-124.
It was Australia’s lowest Test total in India – their previous worst was 93, made in a 13-run defeat in Mumbai in 2004.
Opener Usman Khawaja was caught by Virat Kohli for five off Ashwin in only the second over of Australia’s second innings, which quickly unravelled from there.
Marnus Labuschagne was trapped lbw by Ravindra Jadeja for 17 in the 11th over, while David Warner made it to 10 before falling the same way to Ashwin to leave Australia 34-3.
The tourists lost their final seven wickets for 57 runs as the innings was wrapped up in just under two hours.
Ashwin, who picked up his 31st five-wicket haul in 89 Tests, finished with match figures of 8-79.
Slow left-armer Jadeja, who took 2-34 in the second innings, was later fined 25% of his match fee and had one demerit point added to his disciplinary record after admitting a breach of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) code of conduct during Australia’s first innings.
The 34-year-old was punished for applying a soothing cream to swelling on the index finger of his bowling hand without asking for permission from the on-field umpires.
An ICC statement read: “The match referee was satisfied that the cream was applied to the finger purely for medical purposes.
“The cream was not applied as an artificial substance to the ball and consequently it did not change the condition of the ball.”
The series will help determine qualification for the final of the World Test Championship, which will be held at The Oval this summer.
Australia and India are the top two sides in the rankings and the World Test Championship standings with India needing at least a 3-1 victory to guarantee qualification for the showpiece final.
Cummins’ side, who are currently top of the standings, only need to draw one of the four Tests to guarantee their place.
India captain Rohit Sharma, whose 120 helped set up the win, said: “When playing a series like this, it’s important to start well. I’m happy I could put up a performance which could help the team.”
The second Test begins on Friday, 17 February, in New Delhi.
