The Adelaide Oval was a ground which had a flat pitch unhelpful for bowlers, and short square boundaries, which helped the Australian Batsmen, who were benefitted by their captain Steve Waugh's decision to bat first. Langer and Hayden gave their side a quick start, stitching 22 runs from 5 overs, with Hayden scoring a fast 12 off 13 balls, but the 19-year-old fast-bowler Irfan Pathan, making his debut after Zaheer Khan was nursing a strained hamstring, took Hayden's wicket for a dream start to his debut, and he took his first test wicket in only the second ball of his third over. During their relatively short stay, the two Australian openers set the tone for the day by driving along the line, exploiting a pitch, whose lack of bounce, a fast outfield, and lack of movement, proved to be frustratingly unhelpful for the Indians.