India, Australia ready to clash in first test

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Nagpur: The first Test between India and Australia will be played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium here from Thursday, with a lot at stake for both the teams in the four-match series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia have not won a series in India since 2004 and returned disappointed from the country for more than three decades before that. But what is more shocking for the Aussies is the fact that India have won the last three editions of the Border-Gavaskar series twice in Australia. The last time India lost a series to Australia was in 2014-15.

Thus, for Australian players, winning a series against India has been a decades long wait. If things go according to the plan for the Indians, it is probably going to be India Ajay for the next few years.

The Australians will be hoping that the hosts will have spin at each of the four venues and so far, it appears that their worst nightmares are likely to come true once the first Test begins at the VCA Ground in Jamtha.

So, when Australia skipper Pat Cummins came to interact with the media on Wednesday afternoon, it was mainly about the spinning track, the dry wicket and what a challenge it would be for his team. Considering that they haven’t won a series in India for almost two decades.

But Cummins said that his team will not put any extra burden on themselves by thinking about this.

Cummins said on Wednesday, no, this team is different from all the teams that have played in the past, so we are thinking about winning and we are not thinking about losing. We know touring India is tough – they are a really good cricket team. Especially at home and we are looking forward to give our best.”

Australia’s hopes will rest on Nathan Lyon, including Todd Murphy, who has the best strike rate among recent overseas spinners to bowl in India. But the Aussies have always relied on their fast bowling department to trouble the Indians and would be planning to do the same. Cummins said he has more or less decided on the playing XI, though he did not reveal whether the visiting team would go with three fast bowlers and two spinners or strengthen the spin department in the Nagpur Test.

But their resources are limited on the pace front, ruled out by an injury to Josh Hazlewood, who has not fully recovered from an Achilles problem sustained during Australia’s Test against South Africa in Sydney last month. Fellow fast bowler Mitchell Starc and pace bowling all-rounder Cameron Green are recovering from injury.

While the visitors deal with their troubles, the Indians will have their challenges to overcome when they take to the field on Thursday. It is a must-win series for the Indians not only to maintain their record at home but also to clinch their place in the World Test Championship final. Australia are already assured of a place in the WTC final, while a 2-0 or 3-0 Border-Gavaskar series win will also seal India’s place.

However, skipper Rohit Sharma dismissed the WTC final issue saying that they are taking things match by match and are only thinking about the Nagpur Test first.

He said, “There is no talk about the WTC final in the dressing room and the players are thinking more about this series and taking it match by match.” Is.’

The Indians have their own selection issues. They have to decide which three of the four spinners to go with for the match. Left-handed Ravindra Jadeja is fit and available after a long break. Jadeja is set to join Ravichandran Ashwin and the Indian team management has to decide between Akshar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. Akshar was the star of the last Test series at home while Kuldeep did well on the Bangladesh tour.

Rohit said that all four are specialist spin bowlers and hence he would prefer to go with the better. He refused to say anything about selection matters.

The Indians will have to fill a middle-order slot in the absence of Rishabh Pant, who has been ruled out of the squad after sustaining injuries in a car accident. Although KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan are the two keeper-batsmen in the team and head coach Rahul Dravid will be hoping they do the job that Pant has been doing, while also contributing with the bat at crucial times.

Jamtha’s VCA Stadium has been very lucky for the Indians as they have won four out of the six matches they have played here – drawing one.

The pitch is looking dry and the spinners are expected to get help by the end of the second day, although the Australians are hoping that it starts spinning from the first day as it looks very dry and is showing cracks Is. The way the ground staff has been working on it for the last two days, the left-arm spinner can get a lot of help from the pavilion end.

Both the teams are as follows-

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj , Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat and Suryakumar Yadav.

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson and David Warner.

–IANS

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