India vs Australia 2017,Border-Gavaskar Trophy, First Test, Toss Report: Australia Bat First, Jayant Replaces Bhuvneshwar
Feb 20, 2019 at 11:57 AM
After winning the toss on what Shane Warne called as one of the driest surfaces he has ever seen, the Australian skipper Steven Smith won the toss and decided to bat first. Australian team went up with two main fast bowlers in their squad in form of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood with Nathan Lyon and Steve O’keefe being selected as the two main spinners in the side. There was no place for Glenn Maxwell in the side, who could have been an asset for the team due to his ability to spin the ball. On the other hand, Australian team went for Mitchell Marsh to fill their all-rounder spot.
Virat Kohli continued his legacy of making a change in the playing XI of the team in every game he plays as for this Test, Bhuvneshwar Kumar made way for Jayant Yadav, who will be a third main spinner and also the third all-rounder in the Indian roster.
The spinning conditions will continue to test Australia’s ability in this game and we might see Australian team crumbling in front of Indian spinners right from the start.
Here is the playing XI of both the teams –
India Playing XI: Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma.
Australia Playing XI: David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Shaun Marsh, Steven Smith(c), Peter Handscomb, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade(w), Mitchell Starc, Steve O’Keefe, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.