Squads –
AUS –
Joe Burns, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Tim Paine(w/c), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, James Pattinson, Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson
IND –
Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishab Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj
Team News –
AUS –
– The Aussies were favorates before the series and and completely justified the tag by winning the Pink ball test match against India. Australia have declared a same XI for the 2nd Test against India.
– Joe Burns and Matthew Wade will open the innings. Wade had a poor 1st innings but looked good attacking in the 2nd innings Burns scored a good half century in the 2nd Innings.
– Marnus Labuschagne will bat at 1 down. Labuschagne’s rise has been a huge positive for Australia. He currently averages 60 in 15 Tests till date and scored 47 in 1st innings in 1st test.
– Mr Consistent Steven Smith will bat 2 down. Smith’s record against India is nothing short of incredible, with 1,431 runs in 11 Tests at an average over 80.
– Travis Head and Tim Paine will bat in middle followed by Young Cameron Green who has a brilliant AusA vs IndA game scoring a century and picking 3 Wickets.
– Nathan Lyon will be the lone spinner for Australia. He has an excellent record against India who strikes at 52 in 1st innings.
– Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazelwood will lead the pace attack. Hazelwood took his 8th 5-for in 2nd innings while Cummins taking 7 and Starc 4 in last test.
IND –
– Team India have announced their XI for the Melbourne test in which Shubman Gill will finally make his test debut along with RCB pacer Mohammad Siraj.
– Mayank Agrawal and Shubman Gill will open for India. Mayank has established himself as the no 1 opener choice while Gill has got a point to prove that why he is the better Test opener for India.
– Mr Consistent Cheteshwar Pujara will bat at 1 down. Pujara was the highest scorer when India toured Australia in 2019 and also looked good in 1st Innings
– Hanuma Vihari and Ajinkya Rahane will handle the middle order for India. Both Rahane and Vihari were in good form in the India A games. Vihari can also bowl some off spin.
– Rishab Pant will keep the Wickets and bat next followed by Ravi Jadeja. Jaddu is finally back after injuring himself in 1st t20.
– Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will lead the spin attack of India.
– Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj will lead the pace attack of India.
Probable XI –
AUS –
Joe Burns, Matthew Wade, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Tim Paine(w/c), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
IND –
Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishab Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj
Pitch Report –
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia
The MCG has been neutral with good support for both batters and bowlers in last few tests.
Team Blueprint –
WK –
Matthew Wade ( Open, will likely open in 1st game, 1400+ test runs with an average of 31.3 )
Tim Paine(Middle order + wk, 1403 test runs, will give good points with catches, 73 with the bat last game)
Rishab Pant ( Middle order + wk, 100 of 76 balls in warmup test, Must have)
W Saha( Middle order + wk, 1200 test runs, can give more points with catches , will not play)
BAT –
Steve Smith( 2 down, #1 test Batsman in world, 1431 runs in test against India, Averages 82 in Boxing Day test matches, Must have )
C Pujara( 1 down, 1650+ runs at 60 against Australia, 43 last game, Must pick from India )
Ajinkya Rahane( 3 down, 100 in warmup game, 42 last test in 1st Innings)
M Labushagne( 1 down, among top 5 test batsman, Averages 60 in just 15 tests, 47 last game in 1st innings )
M Agrawal( Open, Excellent form, 221 runs in 5 innings against Australia, Must pick from India )
Shubman Gill ( Open, very talented guy, Averages staggering 73 in FC carrer, Must have)
ALL –
R Ashwin( Off spin + decent bat, poor performance in away tests, 5 Wickets last test, Must due to last tests performance)
Ravi Jadeja( Left arm orthodox + No 7 batting, 302 runs + 56 Wickets in tests against Australia, Must have )
Travis Head( Middle order + off spin, 244 runs against India with an average of 32, good choice)
Cameron Green( Middle order, RHB + Medium pacer, Average 55 in FC Cricket with 33 Wickets )
BOWL –
M Starc( Left arm fast, excellent in day night games, poor Average of 36 against India , 4 Wickets in 1st Innings last game)
Josh Hazelwood( Right Arm medium, known for his swing , 5 Wickets in 2nd innings last game )
Jasprit Bumrah( Right Arm fast, took 2 Wickets last game in 1st Innings, must have )
Pat Cummins( Right Arm fast, 150 test Wickets , #1 bowler in tests, 7 Wickets last test, Must have)
Nathan Lyon( Off spin, excellent record of 86 Wickets against India, failed to take Wickets in last game but still must have )
M Siraj( Right Arm fast, 147 1st class Wickets in 36 games, will make his debut)
C/VC –
AUS –
Steven Smith
Marnus Labushagne
Pat Cummins
IND –
Cheteshwar Pujara
Ajinkya Rahane
Jasprit Bumrah
