Australia had shown in Adelaide that it won’t be an easy ride for the world number one Test side India even though they are without Steve Smith and David Warner. The hosts came up with a valiant effort but lost the game by 31 runs. However, they bounced back in style in Perth and thrashed the visitors by 146 runs to level the four-match series.
It was a clinical effort from the hosts as Australia won their first Test under Tim Paine’s captaincy and also the first since the ball-tampering scandal.
The momentum is surely with Australia after their impressive win in Perth. And ahead of the crucial third Test, Australia have made one change to their XI. They have recalled all-rounder Mitchell Marsh for Peter Handscomb. Marsh, who was initially left out for the first two Tests in Adelaide and Perth, was drafted back after Handscomb’s poor form across the first two games. The right-hander could only score 34, 14, 7 and 13 across four innings.
The nature of the MCG pitch also played a big role in Australia’s decision to recall the allrounder who has not done well in recent times.
“It’s a long series, our bowlers have had a really big workload and we feel we’re going to need Mitch’s bowling at some point,” Paine said. “I’m sure Pete would be upset. I think he’s had conversations with the selectors that there’s a few things they would like him to work on and Pete is open to that.
“Pete at his best is going to score a lot of Test runs and not just his batting, he brings a hell of a lot to our side in terms of his fielding, his experience and just the way he generally goes about his cricket. We’re sure he’ll score a lot more runs for Australia,” he added.
Marsh had a disastrous outing when Australia took on Pakistan in UAE in their last Test assignment. The allrounder struggled with both bat and ball as Australia lost the series 1-0. He averages 11 across 11 knocks since the 96 in South Africa in March. But given his ability to take crucial wickets in the middle, Australia will be hoping he delivers.
Australia’s playing XI for third Test:
Aaron Finch, Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (c), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood