While the T20I series comes to a close at the Sydney Cricket Ground with the two remaining matches, India’s attention will simultaneously turn towards the highly-anticipated red-ball leg of the Australia tour. The Border Gavaskar Trophy is without doubt the main event of India’s tour of Australia and the quest to retain it begins in earnest for the visitors.
Starting on Sunday, India’s Test specialists will look to get into the groove by taking on Australia ‘A’ in a three-day warm-up game at Drummoyne Oval. The three-day match will be played at the Sydney venue from December 6 to 8. The second tour match, scheduled to begin from December 11, will be played with the pink ball.
And in an important development, both games will carry official first-class status, according to cricket.com.au. The matches will be played without spectators, the report added.
In India’s recent overseas tours, the warm-up matches have been treated as glorified net sessions with no first-class status and unlimited batting, bowling options available for the visiting team. It lends credence to the proceedings and element of seriousness.
Australia will use tour games to land first punch, put India on back foot ahead of Tests: Joe Burns
The tour games will be a chance to sort out India’s combinations both in the batting and bowling departments ahead of the opening Day-Night Test scheduled at Adelaide from December 17.
In the batting department, Mayank Agarwal is set to open the innings but there is a question mark over his partner with the choice being between Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill, reported PTI.
While Shaw was preferred in the New Zealand series, he struggled for consistency in the IPL. Gill, on the other hand, was among the runs for Kolkata Knight Riders and also looked in good touch in the third ODI.
In the wicketkeeper’s slot, there will be the battle to look forward to between Wriddhiman Saha and Rishabh Pant. For Saha, who had injured both his hamstrings during the IPL, it will be a test to show his fitness after getting back to the nets recently. Meanwhile, Pant has been India’s No 1 choice in overseas Tests but he was dropped from the limited over series and will have to deliver the goods to seal the keeper’s slot.
With skipper Virat Kohli returning home for the birth of his first child after the opening Test and questions over the fitness of Rohit Sharma no closer to being answered, the onus will be on Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari to show the way.
Rahane, the man likely to lead India in the absence of Kohli, will look for a good outing. Pujara and Vihari too will be itching to go out in the middle having last played a competitive game before the pandemic brought things to a halt.
In the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested for the opening T20I, could play the practice match as he looks to get into Test mode as India’s main weapon. Ishant Sharma has been ruled out of the series and that is a blow that India will have to deal with more seriously than the presence or otherwise of Rohit Sharma.
While Bumrah and Mohammed Shami will share the new ball in the Tests, the third pacer’s spot will be up for grabs and Mohammed Siraj, who looked good in the IPL, will be keen to seal it.
Umesh Yadav, with an experience of 46 Tests, is also an option but he has a tendency to be erratic and his success in red-ball cricket has largely been in home conditions. He was drafted in for the Perth Test in the last tour and did not exactly light the match up.
There are questions over the spin department as well. India will be sweating over the fitness of Ravindra Jadeja who has been ruled out of the next two T20I matches after suffering a concussion and it remains to be seen if he is fit for the Tests.
Ashwin Ravichandran’s form (and importantly, fitness) will be key. He might well be India’s best spinner but he did not last the series during the last Australia tour and Jadeja was preferred in the second Test against New Zealand, the team’s last Test outing.
If Jadeja is unavailable, however, it will open the door for Kuldeep Yadav, who was once proclaimed as India’s No 1 overseas spinner by coach Ravi Shashri, following his exploits in Sydney last year. But the stocks of his wrist spin have dipped since.
Warm-up matches schedule:
December 6-8: Australia A v India A, Drummoyne Oval, 5.00 am IST
December 11-13: Australia A v Indians, SCG (day-night), 9.00 am IST
Australia’s openers
Travis Head will be leading the Australian side who will want to put the visitors under pressure right away.
“The one-day team had an exceptionally good start against India, put some wins on the board and put them under pressure,” Head is quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
“It’s a great opportunity with the red ball, we can start that campaign in the same manner.
“We want to start putting the Indian guys under pressure.”
For Australia, the spotlight will be on young William Pucovski as he looks to grab the opener’s slot following an injury to David Warner, who has been ruled out of at least the opening Test.
Pucovski’s form in the Sheffield Shield triggered a debate with many preferring him over Joe Burns but with Warner’s injury, coach Justin Langer has made it clear that the slot will go to the one who performs well in the tour games.
“The focus is always about trying to win games and starting this week with Australia A, it’s about getting our preparations sorted for the Test series but also putting India on the back foot, landing the first punch and making sure they don’t take any momentum into what’s going to be a fantastic series,” Burns had said.
“We’ll prepare really well for this game and do as much preparation as we can (for Adelaide Test) and make sure we are really prepared for a really tough battle. If we can start well it’s going to go a long way to winning the series.”
Burns said spending time in the middle during the A games will help them get a measure of the visiting batsmen and bowlers.
“So by the time we get to that first Test we’ll be as best prepared as possible,” he said.
India’s Test squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma*, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj.
Indian players likely to be available for the first warm-up match: Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj
Australia A squad for first warm-up match: Joe Burns, Will Pucovski, Marcus Harris, Travis Head (c), Cameron Green, Nic Maddinson, Tim Paine (wk), Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Jackson Bird, Mark Steketee, Harry Conway, Will Sutherland
Australia’s Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Sean Abbott, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
— *Subject to fitness assessment on December 11
The first warm-up match will be telecast live on Sony Six, starting at 5 am on Sunday.
(With PTI inputs)