It’s upon us, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is. To think, it’s just a bilateral Test series. But it’s definitely more than that. And this time, the universe was hell-bent on making it more than this more than that. For one, the Indian captain is not the Indian captain that was meant to be. One of their top-order batters has fractured his thumb while training. Perth has received unseasonal rain which messed up with pitch curation. The current Australian side is running out of daylight to bag a BGT. And on top of everything, the WTC final chances of both teams hinge on this very series.
It seems almost unreal to say but Australia has been a without red-ball series win over India for almost a decade now. Even during the last WTC cycle, where they ended up getting the mace, they could not outdo India. It is a matter of survival this once. Not just of Australia in this WTC final hunt but also of this rivalry. Rivalries are strong as long as they are spicy. No one wants to see seven weeks of monotony. True, even the one-sided games in the BGT are a far cry from being monotonous but in the longer run, people tend to remember only the numbers. That Australia last won a BGT in 2015 is universally remembered but not how a docile Ahmadabad pitch made the last game end in a stalemate last year. Figures over deets are what people retain and Australia will be looking to better them this time.
Team Overview:
India have been super mysterious about their playing XI. Barring a few ground-breaking or predictable news, nothing has made its way out of the Indian camp. KL Rahul is likely to open in place of Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah will fill in for him as the captain. In place of Gill, Devdutt Padikkal is expected to come in at number three. Virat Kohli, who has had an unusually quiet year, would hope to get some heaps o’runs down under. India would need that, especially with no less than four youngsters in line to play. They are also without Mohammad Shami but things could have been worse, had Akash Deep not been one of the rare positives from the New Zealand series.
Australian playing XI writes itself. There was an opening conundrum that persisted for months but Nathan McSweeney will be handed a debut cap to solve that as well. Usman Khawaja will open with the debutant with Marnus Labuschagne coming in at the first drop. Steve Smith has been shifted back to his No. 4 position where he will face the same demons that he tried to escape by requesting batting at the opening spot. It’s more than necessary for Smith to churn some runs. It has been a year and a half nearly since his last century. In this time, he has scored more than fifty runs only thrice in 21 innings. Mitchell Marsh will have double the onus on him. With Cameron Green out of the team, as he opted for surgery, Marsh will have to share the ball with Labuschagne whenever the main bowlers need a break.
Head-to-Head Matches:
India and Australia have played 107 Test matches against each other. With 45 wins Australia dominate the match-up. While India’s 32 wins are lesser, most of them have come in the recent past. 29 games ended in a draw, while one was tied.
Weather and Pitch Report:
A rare spring rain in Perth made the job difficult for the curators at the Perth Stadium. The pitch was under covers until as late as Wednesday, however Thursday saw the sun shining generously upon the Perth pitch, which means pacers can hope to see decent cracks once the grass deteriorates. They might not be as lethal as they usually are but they would do the job just the same. Perth offers plenty for the bowlers. The surface is bouncy and the bowlers get a good carry. By the time, the game reaches its later stages, the bounce becomes so variable that it becomes difficult for both batters and bowlers to control it, though the former find it more troublesome for obvious reasons. Head curator Isaac McDonald said that the curating team will leave at least 8-10mm of the grass.
Where to Watch:
India: Star Sports
Australia: Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports, Channel 7 and 7Plus
Pakistan: Tapmad
UK: TNT, Discovery+
New Zealand: Sky NZ
MENA: Cricbuzz
Caribbean: SportsMax
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan: JioStar
Southern Africa: Super Sports
US: Willow TV
