Team India and Australia are all set to renew their rivalry in the Test format. The two fierce rivals will take on each other in the much-anticipated four-match Test series.
Adelaide opens the Test summer against India on December 6 in a blockbuster Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. The Perth Stadium will host its first Test match when India visit for the second Border-Gavaskar match, before the series moves back to Melbourne and Sydney for the traditional Boxing Day and New Year’s games respectively.
Touch down Adelaide #TeamIndia #AUSvIND ???? pic.twitter.com/I8tdChLpt4
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 2, 2018
So with just a couple of days left before the first Test gets underway, we take a look at how India would likely line up in the game.
With Prithvi Shaw out of the series-opener, KL Rahul and Murali Vijay look set to open the innings. Shaw was ruled out of the game after twisting his ankle in the warm-up game. And while it was a big blow for the visitors, Murali Vijay’s ton and Rahul’s fifty in the tour game would have given the team-management a big relief.
At number three incumbent Cheteshwar Pujara is set to bat. He will be followed by skipper Virat Kohli. Ajinkya Rahane will be the one at number five. The number six spot could be a big headache for the team-management as they will have to decide one between Hanuma Vihari and Rohit Sharma. Vihari, who scored an impressive fifty on his debut in England, scored another fifty in the warm-up game to stake his claim. On the other hand, Rohit, who is making a comeback in Tests through this series, has been in red-hot form in white-ball cricket. At the time being, Vihari looks more likely to get the nod.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant will take the number seven and final specialist batting spot.
As far as the bowling department is concerned, India is likely to play three pacers and one spinner. R Ashwin is looking likely to lead the spin attack once again ahead of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja. With the Australian pitches not offering much swing, Bhuvneshwar Kumar looks out of equation for at least the series-opener. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are likely to get the nod while Umesh Yadav could just pip veteran Ishant Sharma for the final spot.
So here is India’s playing eleven for first Test against Australia:
KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, R Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav.