Perth Test Preview: Bumrah's under fire India brace for real Test Down Under
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After the 3-0 humbling at home from New Zealand, a successful tour of Australia starting Friday at the Optus Stadium in Perth seems hard to imagine for Team India.
But knowing that India have won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) for four consecutive terms, including twice Down Under, should raise the hopes. Then, realising that India would need to win the five-match series by 4-0 at least to reach the World Test Championship final again, could dampen the mood straightaway.
Team India might not want to overthink, instead say focused on the next five days. India are without captain Rohit Sharma, who is on a paternity break. In his absence, pacer Jasprit Bumrah will lead the visitors against Pat Cummins' unpredictable hosts.
Bumrah will be without his pace partner, Mohammed Shami, who lacks match fitness. Ace batter Shubman Gill is also unlikely to feature with a thumb fracture, leaving the responsibility on youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel. India will rely heavily on Rishabh Pant.
Kohli's coronation as 'King Kohli' happened in 2014 in Australia with four hundreds, and the star batter must rediscover his undeniable qualities as a Test player that were questioned this year after a dismal showing at an average of under 23. K L Rahul, too, must prove his doubters wrong. On the bowling front, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep are likely to be Bumrah's partners. However, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana would also stake a claim for the chance to bowl at the pace-friendly surface in Perth.
As for Australia, the dip in batting averages of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne from 56 to 36 and 50 to 30 respectively should be a worry. That said, the hosts would be hoping Travis Head, who has been India's nemesis in back-to-back ICC finals, delivers again. Australia will want keeper Alex Carey and the consistent Usman Khawaja to add enough runs on board. The match starts at 7:50 am IST.
Squads:
India: Jasprit Bumrah (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Washington Sundar.
Australia: Pat Cummins (C), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.