Players warm up during an India Test Squad training session at Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
The two best teams in Test cricket will lock horns against one another as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy gets underway at Perth from the 22nd of November. India defeated Australia on their last two tours Down Under but are without a few key players and a touch low on confidence after a shock defeat at home against New Zealand. Can a wounded Indian team challenge a full-fledged Australian unit in their own backyard? RG tells the story.
India have dominated Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy winning the previous four editions including two consecutive series wins in 2018-19 & 2020-21. Yet, they will not start as favourites as they embark on another tour Down Under which gets underway at the Optus Stadium at Perth from the 22nd of November. The recent 3-0 drubbing at home at the hands of New Zealand sent shockwaves across the cricket world and was a massive dent in India’s confidence and morale ahead of the mega blockbuster series in Australia.
However, contrary to what most experts’ prediction, it still promises to be a humdinger of a contest between the number 1 ranked Test team in the world (Australia) and the number 2 ranked team (India). As ironic as it may sound, India may actually fare better on the fast, pacey and bouncy tracks of Australia than they have on the undercooked, spinner-friendly tracks back home.
And then there is the occasion itself – the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – unarguably the biggest Test series of the calendar year and the rivalry itself – India and Australia have to be the greatest foes of the new millennium. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy may not have the historical context of the Ashes but purely in terms of competitiveness, the quality of the contests, the drama on and off the field and the series scorelines, it has to be the most prestigious Test series in international cricket today.
INDIA – TEAM NEWS AND LIKELY PLAYING XI
India have already achieved the impossible in Australia. No team from the sub-continent has ever beaten Australia in Australia in a Test series. India has done it – not once, but twice and that too on consecutive tours. The challenge this time around will be even harder as the home team are raring to go and the pitches are expected to have more pace and bounce in them.
The Opening Conundrum
India also don’t have their best possible personnel for the series opener. Skipper, Rohit Sharma is unavailable due to personal reasons while Shubman Gill is out injured. Two batters, who have a great back-foot play and were expected to perform well in Australia will not be a part of the starting XI, at least at Perth. The duo was instrumental in giving India solid starts at the SCG and Gill in particular was very impressive aggregating 259 runs in three Tests with two fine fifties on India’s last tour in 2020-21. Gill’s 91 in the second innings at The Gabba laid the platform for Pant’s heroic knock which gave India a memorable series win against all odds.
Kohli’s form a worry for India
Virat Kohli has scored only 250 runs in six Tests at an average of 22.72 in 2024. However, he has a splendid record in Australia with 1352 runs in 13 matches at an average of 54.08 with six hundreds and will prefer the hard and fast wickets Down Under in contrast with the slow and low turning tracks in India where he has struggled in the last three to four years.
Padikkal & Jurel likely to play
Devdutt Padikkal will be a surprise inclusion at number 3. He has played just one Test in his career but looked in decent touch in India A’s clashes with Australia A in Mackay and Melbourne earlier this month.
India is also likely to rope in Dhruv Jurel as a specialist batter at number 6. Jurel scored an under-pressure fifty in each innings (and notably from number 6) of the India-A encounter against Australia-A in Melbourne and has a solid technique and temperament.
Ashwin vs Jadeja
The big question for India would be the choice between their two ace spinners – R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The team think-tank have preferred Jadeja in SENA countries but given the number of left-handers in Australia’s playing XI and Ashwin’s record against them, the off-spinner might get the nod ahead of the left-arm orthodox bowler.
Ashwin has dismissed Khawaja 4 times in 8 innings at an average of 24.75 while getting Alex Carey out 5 times in 6 innings in just 40 deliveries. He has also dismissed Travis Head thrice in 11 innings.
Who will assist Bumrah?
With no Mohammed Shami in the squad, India’s pace attack lacks a bit of sheen and will be heavily dependent on Jasprit Bumrah, who is expected to be used in short effective bursts. Mohammed Siraj will share the new ball with Bumrah but who will be the third seamer – Prasidh Krishna or Harshit Rana?
India Probable Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana.
AUSTRALIA – TEAM NEWS AND LIKELY PLAYING XI
Australia have problems of their own. They haven’t had the best run in Test cricket in the last couple of years. They were beaten in India and drew the Ashes 2-2 in England. They looked vulnerable against Pakistan though the series-scoreline might suggest otherwise and lost at their fortress Gabba against a low-ranked West Indian unit. Their best performance was a 2-0 win in New Zealand in March, which was their last Test assignment of the year – this also means that Australia is slightly under-prepared for the marquee series as they have not played Test cricket in over eight months.
McSweeney to open
Nathan McSweeney will make his Test debut at Perth and open the innings along with Usman Khawaja. McSweeney does not boast of great numbers in first-class cricket – an average of 38 in 34 matches – but was in fine form for South Australia in the 2024 Sheffield Shield where he aggregated 291 runs in two matches including a hundred and two fifties.
Concern over Labuschagne’s form
Marnus Labuschagne has a stellar record at home with an aggregate of 2623 runs in 27 Tests at an average of 62.45 but the Australian number 3 has been in poor form since his ton at Manchester last summer. He has an aggregate of just 347 runs at a poor average of 24.78 with just four fifties (and no hundreds) in 16 innings in this time-frame.
Australia Probable Playing XI: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood
Pitch & Conditions
- The Optus Stadium at Perth is expected to have a lot of pace, bounce and carry.
- Interestingly, the spinners have enjoyed bowling at Perth and the venue has the best average and strike rate for the slower bowlers amongst all Australian grounds since 2018.
- The weather is expected to be sunny with a maximum of 25 degrees. Strong winds might affect the bowler’s rhythm.
Nikhil Narain is a die-hard cricket romantic, published author, and has worked for some of the leading digital websites and broadcasters in India and overseas. An alumnus of the London School of Economics, Nikhil's forte is using data and numbers creatively to weave interesting stories and revolutionize the way cricket statistics are generated and analyzed.
