Australia vs India 2018-19: Australia Announce Playing Eleven For Perth Test
Dec 13, 2018 at 1:28 PM
Australia will have their task cut when they take on India in the second Test in Perth. For the first time in their Test history, Australia lost the first game of a home Test series against India. Tim Paine & Co. gave India a good fight but eventually fell short by 31 runs.
The game looked all but over when Australia lost their skipper Tim Paine and found themselves 7 down for 187 while chasing 322. At that stage, not many would have predicted a fightback from the hosts. However, the game was not over yet. Australia’s stubborn tail was not ready to throw in the towel yet.
Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc took the score past the 200-run mark, adding 41 runs to frustrate the visitors. Mohammed Shami broke the stand when he accounted for Starc. But it did not end the troubles for India.
Cummins and Nathan Lyon took the score past the 250-run mark as Australia smelled a miraculous win while the visitors started to smell a calamity. However, before it could get too late, Jasprit Bumrah removed Cummins. There was, however, no end to the drama as Lyon and Josh Hazlewood frustrated India even more. But R Ashwin finally picked up a wicket on the day when he made Hazlewood edge one to Rahul in the slips.
Well, Australian team-management has put its faith in the same set of players again as the hosts will play the second Test with the same playing eleven. Skipper Tim Paine announced the playing eleven on the eve of the second game. The announcement means Paine is fit to play the game. The ‘keeper-batsman was a doubt for the game after coping a blow on his index finger in the series-opener.
Finch, who made a three-ball duck and 11 in the first Test in Adelaide, and off-colour Mitchell Starc have also managed to retain their spots.
Here is Australia’s playing eleven:
Shaun Marsh, Aaron Finch, Tim Paine (c & wk), Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Harris, Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head