3 glaring mistakes made by India on Day 1 of BGT 2024-25 4th Test

India had a relatively tough opening day (December 26) in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in Melbourne. Hosts Australia won the toss and opted to bat first as debutant Sam Konstas, along with Usman Khawaja, gave them a decent start upfront.

Both batters scored half-centuries and set the tone, which was carried forward by Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, who walked in next. Labuschagne got some crucial runs under his belt, scoring a half-century before getting out while Smith (68*) is still at the crease.

The Australians gave India a tough time as they ended the day on 311/6, putting themselves in a strong position heading into Day 2. For the visitors, Jasprit Bumrah stood tall once, bagging three wickets while Akash Deep, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar picked up a wicket apiece.

While Rohit Sharma and Co. managed to fight back in the final session with some quick wickets, they were made to toil for most of the day as the hosts find themselves slightly ahead in this contest as things stand at the moment.

What went wrong for the visitors as they failed to dominate on the opening day of the Melbourne Test? Here are three glaring mistakes made by India on Day 1 of the ongoing fourth BGT 2024-25 Test.

---

#3 Dropping Shubman Gill and not bowling Washington Sundar at the right time

The Indian team may have gotten the team selection slightly wrong and it did affect them on the opening day. They dropped Shubman Gill, a frontline and top-order batter, to bring in all-rounder Washington Sundar.

While Sundar could have been effective with the ball when there was turn and bounce, he was brought in to bowl very late in the innings. The spinner could have extracted some turn and bounce early on and with match-ups such as that against Usman Khawaja, the decision to bowl Sundar late proved to be a mistake.

Sundar was bowling along with Nitish Kumar Reddy around 20 overs before the 80-over mark, when the batters were set and there was not much help on offer for the spinners. Having sacrificed a top-order batter to bring in Sundar, he should have been introduced into the attack a lot earlier.

---

#2 Not giving Akash Deep the new ball

Jasprit Bumrah has been India's best new-ball bowler and their top bowler overall in this series so far. However, he has not had enough support, particularly with the new ball upfront.

Mohammed Siraj, who shared the new ball alongside Bumrah on the opening day, has been hot and cold. He has had his fair share of struggles, not being effective enough with the new ball. Yet, someone like an Akash Deep, who was probably the most effective bowler for the visitors keeping the wickets apart, was not handed the new ball.

Rohit Sharma and Co. may not have learnt their lesson from the Brisbane Test. There was some help off the surface in the initial overs and they may have missed a trick by not giving Akash Deep the new ball alongside Bumrah.

---

#1 Wrong lengths from Indian pacers upfront

The Indian pacers failed to hit the desired lengths with the ball in the opening session. There was some help on offer off the surface initially and they could not stop Australia's counter-attack.

The Indian pacers bowled a 6 to 8 meter length for most of the opening session, which was slightly behind. Traditionally, the 6 to 8 meter length does not hit the stumps in Australian conditions. In order to hit the stumps, the pacers should have incorporated better lengths.

Ideally, pitching the ball further up, particularly in the opening session, could have helped as that would give the pacers opportunities to create more chances of picking up wickets, that they failed to do.