Yashasvi Jaiswal had an unusual complaint to Mitchell Starc while batting in the second innings of the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test today (November 23), about the speed he was bowling at.
Jaiswal came in to bat for the second time in the match after Lunch on day two in Perth. India bowled Australia out for 104 after they themselves were bowled out for 150 on day one. Jaiswal, who made an eight-ball duck in the first innings, set about flipping the tables and built a strong opening partnership with KL Rahul.
Starc opened up the innings for Australia as usual, but was unable to challenge the openers in his opening three-over spell and was brought back on later in the session. Known for his late eighties mph pace, searing yorkers and troubling bouncers, Starc started by mixing up his lengths to the pair but soon went to a fuller ball plan, still bowling in the mid to late eighties.
However, the pace the ball was coming down at seemingly wasn't to Jaiswal's liking. After Starc sent him down a back-of-a-length straight ball which Jaiswal comfortably blocked, the opener shouted back, seemingly to Starc, "it's coming too slow".
Jaiswal to Starc: "It's Coming too slow"pic.twitter.com/aXMWnoa7hi
— CricketGully (@thecricketgully) November 23, 2024
A few fans online suggested that Jaiswal may have been replying to Starc on behalf of teammate Harshit Rana. During Australia's first innings, Starc had given Rana, his former IPL teammate, a friendly reminder that "I bowl faster than you".
Pitches in Perth are usually know for their pace and bounce, and while 17 wickets fell to pace on day one, the surface seems to have deadened out a bit on day two. The surface was rolled twice today, once before the start of play and once before India started their innings, potentially hindering the initial pace bowlers were able to get out of the pitch.
India's opening partnership reached over 100 in the evening session, with the previous highest partnership in the game worth 48, between Rishabh Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy. India's lead also crossed over 150 runs during the session, with plenty of time still left in the game to set Australia a huge fourth-innings target.
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