Most-awaited ruthless tussle between Australia and India embarks on Thursday at Adelaide

Adelaide, the city of churches is going to host the inaugural test match of the down under 2018-19 after sharing the three-match T20I series. There is no cricket playing nation that does not hanker after a test series win in Australian soil. Unfortunately, India has never been able to bear the palm in test series against Australia. The men in blues came closest in 2003-04 series under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, when they drew 1-1. The upcoming series might be a bit off colour as Australia will miss their two batting stalwarts – Steve Smith and David Warner in this series who were the leading run scorers for them in the 2014-15 series. India, on the other hand, will be playing with almost their full strength and will have probably the best chance to seal the series as predicted by many cricket pundits.

Venue: 

In the yore, Adelaide pitch was renowned as batting paradise, probably the best batting track in the continent with occasional turn for the spinners after third day’s play. But if we have a look into the stats of the last three tests in this very venue, we will get a contrasting picture with pacers dominating all the tests and only one occasion of four hundred plus runs. India came out with flying colours in Adelaide only once, i.e. in 2003-04 series owing the mammoth partnership of 301 between Dravid and Laxman and Agarkar’s six wicket haul. In the upcoming match India can expect a green top twenty two yards as greetings as curator Damien Hough told the media.

Probable first XI:

Top order: 

With Prithvi Shaw ruled out for the first test, if not for the first two, Vijay and Rahul will be automatic choices in the opening slot. Vijay will get another opportunity to prove his subtleties. He was in sublime touch in the practice match scoring a hundred with an above par strike rate. He was also the 2^nd highest run scorer for India and third highest overall in the last series in Australia. Rahul, on the other hand had a mediocre test series in England, managed to score a few runs only in the fifth test. Both of them will aspire for some runs in this test to cement their positions. Otherwise, with Shaw coming back into the squad any of them will lose his place. Pujara will be in number three as he doesn’t have much of a competition right now, though his away figures have started to raise a few eye brows and he is yet to fill the shoes left by Dravid. He did not have a memorable series last time here in Australia. He will probably fight tooth and nail to make this series a fruitful one.

Middle Order: 

We don’t need to discuss about the number four spot. Rather, we can expect another run feast for the numero uno test batsman. But Kohli has to be prudent as the Aussie pacer trio will try to find his chink in armour, if there is any. The fifth sixth and seventh spots will depend upon India’s strategy whether they will play with four specialist bowlers or five. If they are going to play with four bowlers, the Rahane will be on five, there will be a fight between Rohit and Hanuma Vihari in 6^th spot. Rohit is in the form of his life time and it is high time he got a chance in the longer format of the game. On the other hand, Hanuma Vihari showed great resilience in England and he is the only one in the squad who can play the role of the fifth bowler. In 7^th spot Rishabh Pant is the only wicket keeping option available in this series. The young man from Delhi has shown good performance in England and in the home series but has a tendency of throwing his wicket. He will be subjected to frequent bouncers and short deliveries as these are his Achilles’ heel. His wicket keeping skills will also be tested in the bouncy tracks as he gave away considerable amount of bye runs in the England series. But if India choose to play with five bowlers, either of Rahane and Rohit or Vihari will have to make way for Ashwin or Jadeja. India will surely miss the service of Hardik Pandya, the only pacer-all rounder they have.

Bowlers:

If India chooses to play with four bowlers, they will deploy three pacers and one spinner. Bhuvi’s and Bumrah’s places are secure as both of them are in good form. The third pacer will be any one among Umesh, Shami and Ishant. Shami was the leading wicket taker for India in the last series in Australia and he was decent in the practice match. So there is a high chance of including him in the playing eleven. On the other hand, both Umesh and Ishant have the tendency to blow hot and cold in the match. Ishant’s experience may come in handy in breaking the inexperienced batting line up of Australia. As far as spinners are concerned, Kohli will have to choose between Ashwin, the seasoned one and Kuldeep, who was excellent in England as well as in South Africa. 

To call a spade a spade Ashwin’s away bowling performance has never been at par with the home stats and last time he had a very mediocre performance in Australia taking 12 wickets compared to Nathan Lyon’s 23 wickets. So, it might be a good time to introduce Kuldeep who can create problem in the fragile Aussie batting line up with his wrong ones. But if India decides to play with five bowlers, they will choose four pacers and one spinner-all rounder, i.e. Ashwin or Jadeja. So Kuldeep will have to make way for Ishant or Umesh.

For Aussie side, they have one of the most proficient bowlers on their deck. In the absence of Warner and Smith, Aussies has the lack of quality batsmen that adds a certain degree of insecurity over their Test conquest. Finch and Khawaja, the duo would be anticipated to don a paramount role in this series against India, where they’d be facing the likes of Bumrah, Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar.  Shaun Marsh, one of the most experienced personnel from the Aussie side could also pose a threat to the touring Indian lineup. The trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins would be a formidable force to reckon with. The presence of Nathon Lyon, who is perhaps a legend in the eyes of fellow Australians, further boosts up the chances for an Aussie victory in the first Test at Adelaide.

However, let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for a level-headed match from the day after tomorrow. 

Photo Source: Google

Writer: Sourav Samanta

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