India will take on Australia at The Gabba, Brisbane, in the second Test starting Wednesday. After a thrilling first match that saw fortunes seesaw till the final session, both sides will be keen to keep up the intensity and put in another compelling performance.
Adelaide proved to be a good pitch for batting, with the Indian bowlers managing to capture only 12 wickets in the match. Though India were bowled out twice, Virat Kohli very nearly led them to a memorable victory, but a late batting collapse saw the visitors lose eight wickets in the final session to fall short by 48 runs.
However, the Gabba is unlikely to produce as many runs. In recent years, the Brisbane ground has been known to aid the pace bowlers, though if a batsman is good enough to come to terms with the extra bounce, there are runs to be scored as well. Australia will dearly miss the services of Michael Clarke, who averages 103 at
The Gabba after 10 matches. India will once again look to Kohli to score the bulk of the runs, though with Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinkya Rahane all showing some form the signs are encouraging for India, especially since skipper MS Dhoni is likely to be fit for the match.
India’s main headache will be in terms of selection. While the batting order is likely to remain the same — with the inclusion of Dhoni in place of Wriddhiman Saha — it is the bowling attack that will surely be tweaked. Karn Sharma was far from impressive on his debut and is likely to make way either for an extra seamer or another spinner. India might want the services of Umesh Yadav, though whether he will come in at the cost of one of the three pacers used in the first Test remains to be seen. India could also risk going in with five bowlers, with Dhoni coming in at No. 6 and Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja at No. 7, though it would be prudent to include the extra batsman given the frailty shown in the second innings at Adelaide.
For Australia, Clarke’s injury will ensure at least one forced change with Shaun Marsh likely to make the cut, while either Mitchell Starc or Josh Hazlewood could get a chance in place of Peter Siddle, who looked largely unthreatening in the first match.
Ishant Sharma will be India’s main bowler, and if he can prove incisive, half of India’s battle will be won. However, the prospect of facing Mitchell Johnson and co. and a helpful track will be sure to cause a bit of unrest in the ranks. Australia undoubtedly hold the edge over an inexperienced line-up which relies a bit too heavily on Vijay, Pujara, and Kohli, though India have proven that their pace bowlers can be equally up to the task on wickets that provide some assistance. On the whole, it is likely to be another engaging contest between two young sides with a lot of potential and a lot to prove.
Squads:
Australia: Steven Smith(c), Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin(wk), Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Shaun Marsh.
India: MS Dhoni (c&wk), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha(wk), Karn Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Varun Aaron, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhawal Kulkarni, Lokesh Rahul, Suresh Raina.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and cricket fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter @ShiamakUnwalla. The views expressed by the author are personal.)
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