New Delhi: After two consecutive Test series wins in 2018 and 2021, India would aim to be the first team to complete a hat-trick of victories when the high-octane five-Test Border Gavaskar series begins in Perth on Friday.
But for a team looking to create history, India are hardly in a comfortable place, wounded by their first home series loss in 12 years in the build-up and unavailability of several key players in the series opener.
India’s humiliating 0-3 loss to New Zealand last month was peppered with regular batting collapses with leading names Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma showing signs of vulnerability apart from the toothlessness of ageing spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Questions have been raised about their future, thus they have a lot to prove, as do India after four successive BGT wins – two at home and two in Australia.
Australia have never been able to digest two losses at their own backyard to Australia and seems to be still smarting from those defeats. They have predictably began their ‘mental disintegration’ games ahead of the series with heavyweight yesteryear names jumping on the bandwagon with headline-grabbing quotes.
Typical Aussie gamesmanship
Ricky Ponting began the verbal volleys last week when he questioned whether Kohli and Rohit deserve a spot in the Indian team after being woefully out of form against New Zealand.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir, who is himself under pressure in early days of his tenure, counter punched. “What does Ponting have to do with Indian cricket?
“More importantly, I have got no concerns whatsoever for Virat and Rohit,” he said, calling Kohli and Rohit “incredibly tough men”.
“I feel there’s a lot of hunger, especially after what has happened in the last series.”
Ravi Shastri also waded in, defending Kohli who has only one half century in his last 10 innings. “Well, the king is back in his territory,” the former India coach said, pointing to the 36-year-old’s record of six centuries at an average of 54.08 in Australia.
🗣️🗣️ In terms of leadership, in terms of how he looks at the game and approaches the game, he’s a natural leader for me.#TeamIndia Bowling Coach Morne Morkel on @Jaspritbumrah93‘s leadership qualities.#AUSvIND | @mornemorkel65 pic.twitter.com/TBxjVze8WV
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 20, 2024
Key absentees
India would have to deal with the absences of skipper Rohit Sharma, who is on paternity leave following the birth of his second child. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah will lead the team and has to decide who among KL Rahul or Abhimanyu Easwaran would partner Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order.
Regular number three Shubman Gill is also doubtful after a fractured thumb in training while two among Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana would take the new-ball duties with Bumrah.
All-rounder Nitesh Reddy is also being considered for debut as his seam bowling skills is highly regarded and offers additional balance to the squad.
Opening riddle for Australia
The hosts too have their own issues to sort out, starting with the absence of top all-rounder Cameron Green with back surgery.
Just like India, their opening combination is up for scrutiny as they have picked untried Nathan McSweeney to partner Usman Khawaja, unable to find a like for like replacement for the retired David Warner.
It allows Steve Smith to return to his preferred No.4 spot, after his promotion to the opening spot didn’t fetch the desires results. Like Kohli, Smith hasn’t been at his best in recent times and would hope to make it count in this high-profile contest.
“We’ve lost the (last) two series against them (in Australia), so this is a big one. We feel like our team’s in a really good place, so we’ve got no reason why we shouldn’t perform really well,” Australia captain Pat Cummins said.
WTC final spot at stake
Being the top two teams in the rankings, a series win would boost the chances of qualification to the World Test Championship final.
Australia need to win five of their seven remaining Tests in this cycle while India must win BGT 4-0 to be assured of a place in the final.
With increasing intensity of rivalry over the years, the series has been boosted to five Tests, a first since 1991-92, putting it at par with the Ashes in duration and prestige.
With the series opening at Perth’s traditionally bouncy pitches, one can expect a trial by pace though Ashwin and Nathan Lyon are well equipped to make a mark at the Optus Stadium.
Match details, timings:
India vs Australia, 1st Test of five-match BGT series
Match begins at 7.50am IST at Optus Stadium, Perth.
Broadcast on Star Sports Network, streaming on Disney+ Hotstar in India.
India will have a point to prove when their five-Test series against Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy begins in Perth on Friday. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
