IND vs AUS: D-Day is finally here, the day everybody has longed for over a month now. The first test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is finally here. The match is scheduled to be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth, one of the fiercest wickets for pace in World cricket.
The Optus Stadium, in Western Australia, is one of the most ideal grounds in the world for seamers, as the tracks often help extra bounce and pace of the surfaces. Recently, a few days ago, the head pitch curator of the Perth Stadium, Issac McDonald, shared an insight into the pitch conditions where he revealed it would be significantly troubling the batters due to the pitches being covered for long as a result of the rainfall.
The Aussie pace bowling deck, which comprises the immensely talented Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazelwood, will be taking advantage of the conditions here in Western Australia. The Indians, on the other hand, have a fairly inexperienced bowling deck, led by the experienced Jasprit Bumrah.
India has announced their playing 11 for the first test, with Jasprit Bumrah winning the toss and setting his team to bat first on a seemingly good track, which will enhance bowling conditions post-day 1.
India has left out their bunch of experienced players, as skipper Sharma misses out on the first test, while Shubman Gill has been reportedly ruled out owing to a thumb injury. India have decided to rest their two most experienced BGT campaigners, Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, and have instead entrusted their hopes on Washington Sundar, MVP from the New Zealand home series, and debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana.
India Playing 11: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah and Harshit Rana.
The Aussies, on the other hand, have been very orthodox in their way of conducting the Playing 11, with the only player, Cameron Green, being ruled out due to his surgery, which rules him off the game for 6 months.
The Aussies have included young and promising Nathan McSweeney as the other opener alongside Khawaja, as they seem to rely on him as David Warner’s replacement for the future.
Australia Playing 11: Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Josh Hazelwood.
