Virat Kohli has done something that he didn’t manage to do on the entire Test tour of England – he has won the toss. And the Indian skipper elected to bat first with no hesitation.
Australia had already named their Test XI on the eve of the game, so the only other point of interest was whether India would go with Rohit Sharma or Hanuma Vihari. In the end, India and Kohli opted for the experience of Rohit Sharma for the sixth batsman’s slot.
“We will bat first, looks like a nice hard wicket with a nice covering of grass. Runs on the board will be handy. Evey tour is an opportunity, it’s a difficult challenge in Australia. We are looking forward to a challenging series,” said Kohli at the toss. “I love playing here in Adelaide, the wicket is good and the stadium is great. We’ve gone with Rohit Sharma at 6. He’s one guy who can bat with the tail and he’s got all the shots to bat here in Australia.”
The wicket is usually good for batting if you can get through the first 20-odd overs. So both teams wanted to bat first.
“We would have batted as well, some damp spots and we will look to make the best of that. Nice to start in Adelaide, we will look to do our best,” said Australian skipper Tim Paine. “We think 3 pacers and Nathan will do the job, they are pretty fresh and we have a all-round attack. We expect the batsmen to stand-up, we have good players who have done well domestically over the past five-six years.”
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami.
Australia (Playing XI): Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Tim Paine(w/c), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon.
