Xtra Time Web Desk: A fearless Indian side led by their inspirational captain Virat Kohli will take on an Australian side seeking to take revenge (from their test series loss at home in 2018-19) as both sides face each other in the first Day Night test starting from Thursday at Adelaide Oval.
Two of the best test sides will go head to head in what has been billed as the series of the year post the pandemic. Mouth watering match ups and key contests between the star players from each side will make the series an even engrossing battle. The two best batsmen of the modern era will go out in the middle to prove a point. The mean fast men on both sides will aim to instill the fear of pink ball in twilight zone, creating all sorts of doubts in the batsmen”s minds. A Josh Hazlewood versus Mohammed Shami will be as enticing a sub-plot as Jasprit Bumrah bowling those yorkers in reply to Pat Cummins” barrage of bouncers.
Australia will certainly enjoy distinct home advantage along with the experience of playing more Day/Night Tests. Even 24 hours before the game, one can”t be sure what exactly would be the perfect combination going into a Test match which isn”t exactly conventional in nature.
And the two practice games have only thrown up more dilemmas for India rather than giving them definitive answers that they were seeking from the encounters. The biggest debate for India is their opening position. Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal, as a pair, flopped in New Zealand on seaming tracks and Shaw”s shot-a-ball trigger happy batting technique isn”t exactly inspiring highest confidence.
In Shubman Gill, India has one for the future but will Kohli and Ravi Shastri are ready to throw a youngster at the deep end of the pool or overlook KL Rahul”s poor Test track record and bank more on his experience?
Two days before the game, a clear picture hasn”t emerged although Gill”s batting has earned him the vote of both Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar, the two names inscribed on the glittering trophy that the teams are playing for.
Can Rahul be fitted in at No.6? But then it would be at the expense of Hanuma Vihari, who has done no wrong in his two years with Indian team and can also bowl some part-time off-breaks. Are they ready to take that risk? No one knows at this point.
And then the continuing debate on who is more needed — batsman-keeper Rishabh Pant or a keeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha?
Saha”s fifty in the red-ball first-class match was achieved in a tougher setting than Pant”s 73-ball 100 under lights against a second string attack. But Pant can be a match-winner while Saha at best is a match-saver with the bat.
Both their techniques are fragile and Hazlewood, Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon will test them relentlessly.
At times, less options make it easier to choose and Kohli would hope that he makes the right choices so that Ajinkya Rahane can help India do an encore once he takes a break.
India (likely playing XI): Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill/Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant/Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav.
With Inputs from PTI