The first Test cricket match between India and Australia starts today in Nagpur.
The first match of the 4-Test series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia begins today at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. This series is very important for the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team.
Because if they want to qualify for the ICC Test World Championship finals to be held in June, the Indian team will have to accumulate significant wins in the 4-match Test series against Australia. At the same time, Australia, the world’s number one team, is entering the field with the intention of winning the Test series on Indian soil after 19 years.
Also, in 2018-19 and 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar series, the Indian team defeated Australia at home. Australian team led by Pat Cummins may show seriousness in replying to these two successive defeats this time. The Australian team had also made various changes in their training methods this time.
Apart from the regular 3-day practice match, they conducted special training sessions at the stadium in Bengaluru. The team’s batsmen practiced nets for long hours every day, mainly against spin. The Australians used Mahesh Pithia from Baroda, who can bowl in Ashwin’s style, for more time in practice. The reason for this is that spin-friendly pitches are likely to be set up in the Test series.
Australia’s fast bowler Josh Hazlewood and all-rounder Cameron Green will not play in the first Test as they have not recovered from their injuries, said Pat Cummins. David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Marnus Labuschagne can add strength in the batting.
Scott Boland is likely to bowl the opening overs with Pat Cummins bowling. Another fast bowler could be Lance Morris. Among the spinners, Ashton Agar along with Nathan Lyon are ready to challenge the Indian batting line-up.
For the Indian team, this series could be a challenge for Rohit Sharma as the Test captain. Because he has not participated in series against big teams due to injury several times. However, like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma is expected to lead India to the final of the ICC World Test Championship.
Apart from this, the team selection for today’s game has become very difficult. India is likely to field 3 spinners, 2 pacers, 5 main batsmen and a wicketkeeper batsman. Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel or Kuldeep Yadav are expected to be the spinners in this category. Umesh Yadav or Mohammad Siraj will field alongside Mohammad Shami in fast bowling.
In terms of the batting order, the places of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli have already been confirmed. Shubman Gill or Suryakumar Yadav may be selected as the 5th player. KS Bharath or Ishan Kishan may get a chance as wicketkeeper batsman. Since it is a Test match, there are more chances for KS Bharat to play.
Time: 9.30 am
Live: Star Sports
How is the pitch?: Ground staff are sprinkling water on selected areas of the Vidarbha Cricket Association ground. Water is sprinkled in the middle of the pitch and outside the off stump for right-handed batsmen. But the best length for left-handed batsmen is dry outside the off-stump region. Also some areas have been selected and the amount of grass has been reduced. This could be a major factor in deciding the outcome of the game.
Reverse Swing..: It is said that the Nagpur pitch will favor spin bowling. However, dry conditions are observed in both parts of the pitch. In such situations the pace bowlers are likely to dominate the reverse swing when the ball becomes soft.
Is Nathan Lyon a bully?: Just like how Ravichandran Ashwin is a threat to the Australian team, Nathan Lyon can give a tough challenge to the Indian team. In Indian soil, he played 7 Test matches and took 34 wickets. Nathan Lyon averaged 4.40 runs per over in the 2012-13 series and then gave a frugal 2.80 runs in the 2016-17 series. He has dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara 5 times and Virat Kohli 4 times on Indian soil.
