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The stage is set as both India and Australia get ready to play the first Test of the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series starting from Thursday at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur.
While the last time Australia won a series in India was way back in 2004, India has won each of the 15 series they have played at home in the last decade, losing only two Tests, one of which came against Australia at Pune in 2017.
India are the current holder of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, having won the last three editions of the series against Australia in 2017, 2018-19 and 2020-21. The last time India lost a series against Australia was in 2014-15.
There has been a lot of talk on pitches going around from both sides ahead of the all-important Test series. The pitch for the first Test of the series in Nagpur looks pretty dry and is expected to turn with spinners coming into the game right from the start of the match.
Recent Form (last five matches, most recent first):
India: WWLWW
Australia: DWWWW
Probable XI:
India’s (Probable XI): 1. Rohit Sharma (C), 2. KL Rahul (VC), 3. Cheteshwar Pujara, 4. Virat Kohli 5. Ravindra Jadeja, 6. Shubman Gill/Suryakumar Yadav, 7 KS Bharat (WK), 8. R Ashwin, 9. Axar Patel/Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohammed Siraj
Australia’s (Probable XI): 1. David Warner, 2. Usman Khawaja, 3. Marnus Labuschagne, 4. Steven Smith (VC), 5. Travis Head, 6. Peter Handscomb/Matthew Renshaw, 7. Alex Carey (WK), 8. Pat Cummins (C), 9. Ashton Agar, 10. Nathan Lyon, 11. Scott Boland
Pitch Conditions:
The Nagpur pitch looks pretty dry and is expected to assist the spinners just like any other pitch in India. However, the Australians are expecting that the ball will start spinning from the first day itself.
Interestingly, the pitch has been selectively watered to create a rough outside the off stump for the left-handers on a good to full-length area. Because of this, the pitch may give an advantage to the left-arm spinners turning the ball into the left-handers using the rough, especially from the pavilion end.
It is the same end from which Vidarbha left-arm spinner Aditya Sarvate claimed 6/17 against Gujarat last month and 5/35 against Railways in the Ranji Trophy.
Players to Watch out For:
India
1. Cheteshwar Pujara
Last 10 innings (most recent first): 6, 24, 102*, 90, 66, 13, 9, 43, 53, 3
2. Ravichandran Ashwin
Last 10 matches (most recent first): 6/137, 1/109, 6/85, 6/96, 0/66, 1/61, 2/55, 8/42, 6/117, 4/45
Australia
1. Marnus Labuschagne
Last 10 innings (most recent first): 79, 14, 5*, 11, 31, 163, 104*, 204, 32, 104
2. Nathon Lyon
Last 10 matches (most recent first): 2/120, 4/111, 4/31, 4/65, 8/189, 2/194, 9/121, 6/178, 5/125, 1/236
Some interesting facts:
- Australia have won 43 matches out of the 102 Tests played so far in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, while India have won 30 matches with 28 matches getting drawn and 1 tied.
- India has won 4 out of the 6 matches played at the VCA stadium in Nagpur, with 1 match drawn and 1 lost against South Africa.
- India needs to win at least three Tests out of the four-match series to qualify for the World Test Championship final.
- Axar Patel is just three wickets away to become the fastest Indian to take 50 Test wickets, alongside Ashwin (nine Tests).
- Usman Khawaja has been a part of the Australia Test squad that toured India previously in 2013 and 2017. However, he is still yet to play an actual game here.
- Â R Ashwin is just one wicket away from becoming the ninth bowler to pick 450 Test wickets. He will be the second quickest to achieve the milestone in 89 Tests behind Muttiah Muralitharan who got there in 80 Tests.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (C), K.L. Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav
Australia: Pat Cummins (C), Steve Smith (VC), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.
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