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After winning the first Test by an inning and 132 runs in Nagpur, India will now be aiming for another victory to move one step closer to the finals of the WTC 2023 in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, from Friday.
The second Test of the series will also be the 100th Test match of India’s veteran and dependable batter Cheteshwar Pujara. Interestingly, Pujara made his debut in October 2010 in the second Test of the same Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru.
In October 1996, It was at this ground which was then called the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy began in a one-off Test between India and Australia.
In the first Test in Nagpur, India registered a dominating win by winning the game by a huge margin of an inning and 132 runs. The only positive for Australia from that match was the partnership between Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith on the opening day after the initial blow with Australia in deep trouble at 2/2 inside the first three overs.
The pitch is expected to be slow at New Delhi which means Australia will have to really bat well if they want to take the game deep into the fifth day, something which Sri Lanka did when the stadium hosted a Test match the last time in 2017.
Labuschagne and Smith will again be the key with the bat for the visitors. Australia will be looking to bounce back in the series by winning the second Test in Delhi. However, it won’t be an easy task considering how India’s spin trio is performing. The Rohit Sharma-led team will be once again the favourites.
Recent form (last five matches, most recent first):
India: WWWLW
Australia: LDWWW
Pitch Conditions:
The pitch at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium has always helped the spinners and has been good for batting only for the initial few days. The average first-inning score here is 342, which goes down to 165 in the 4th innings. The pitch looks dry and the low bounce on this track will make it difficult for batters to play their strokes freely.
However, it has been said that the pitch here looks different than what it actually turns out to be during the match. The pitch looks slow and it will definitely spin. The question is just how soon it will start to turn and how much. The weather forecast is sunny and warm.
Arun Jaitely Stadium Records (Test matches):
Total matches: 36
Matches won batting first: 6
Matches won bowling first: 13
Average 1st Inns scores: 342
Average 2nd Inns scores: 316
Average 3rd Inns scores: 237
Average 4th Inns scores: 165
Highest total recorded: 644/8 (214 Ov) by WI vs IND
Lowest total recorded: 75/10 (30.5 Ov) by IND vs WI
Team News:
India: With India head coach Rahul Dravid giving his approval, Shreyas Iyer is set to return after recovering from his lower back injury and will replace Suryakumar Yadav at No.5. With in-form Shubman Gill desperately waiting for his chance, there will certainly be pressure on India vice-captain and opening batter KL Rahul to score runs in this match and this might turn out as his last chance to prove himself.
Australia: If all-rounder Cameron Green is fit enough to play the second Test in Delhi, then Australia might go with three specialist spinners which bring left-arm spinners Ashton Agar and the uncapped Matt Kuhnemann into the picture as a third spin-bowling option.
If Green plays, Australia skipper Pat Cummins confirmed that Australia are considering playing a third spinner in a five-man bowling attack instead of left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc, even if he is fit to play. Cummins also revealed that Travis Head remains in conversation for selection after he was surprisingly dropped from the first Test in Nagpur.
Probable XI:
India (Probable XI): 1. Rohit Sharma (Captain), 2. KL Rahul (Vice-captain), 3. Cheteshwar Pujara, 4. Virat Kohli, 5. Shreyas Iyer, 6. Ravindra Jadeja, 7. KS Bharat (WK), 8. Ravichandran Ashwin, 9. Axar Patel, 10. Mohammed Shami, 11. Mohammed Siraj.
Australia (Probable XI): 1. David Warner, 2. Usman Khawaja, 3. Marnus Labuschagne, 4. Steven Smith (Vice-captain), 5. Peter Handscomb, 6. Matt Renshaw/Cameron Green (if fit), 7. Alex Carey (WK), 8. Pat Cummins (Captain), 9. Nathan Lyon, 10. Scott Boland/Mitchell Starc (if fit), 11. Todd Murphy.
Some interesting facts:
- India have not lost a single Test match at this ground since 1987 when they were defeated by West Indies.
- Ravindra Jadeja needs just one wicket to complete his 250 wickets in Test cricket.
- Ravichandran Ashwin is the third-highest wicket-taker in Tests in Delhi with 27 wickets at 20.11 in just four Tests
- Anil Kumble is the only Indian bowler with 100+ wickets in Tests against an opponent. He has taken a total of 111 wickets vs Australia. Meanwhile, Ashwin is on 97 wickets against Australia from his 19 Tests.
- The second Test will be Australia’s eighth Test in Delhi – the most they have played at a venue in India. They have won only one match at this venue which came in their very first appearance here during the 1959-60 tour.
- Nathan Lyon needs nine more wickets to surpass Shane Warne to become the leading wicket-taker among visiting bowlers in Asia. In his only appearance at Feroz Shah Kotla in 2013, Lyon picked 9/165 – his best match figures in India.
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-captain), Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav.
Australia: Pat Cummins (Captain), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (Vice-captain), Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
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