Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024

AUS vs IND, 1st Test

Preview 

In a nation enraptured by cricket, it is not unusual to see the term ‘Indian cricket is at the crossroads’ thrown about casually in the media and amongst frantic fans.  

But with a desired dominance in Test at home abridged, courtesy of the Blackcaps, and the heat on the Indian team at its zenith after the failure of its big stars, the forthcoming five-match series Down Under could well be a turning point.  

The visitors do not enjoy a formidable record in Australia by any stretch of the imagination. With only nine victories across 52 Tests in Australia, England, West Indies and South Africa are traditionally well ahead in taking the fight to cricket's most fearsome host.

However, bringing down to brass tracks discloses that four of those nine wins have emerged in consecutive series wins over the last six years, with the visitors showing more courage and hunger, even when they were up the creek without a paddle. 

The 2021 ‘Gabba Miracle’ implored by an injury-ridden Indian team, concluded a 32-year Australian dominance in Brisbane, inspiring even the modern-day straggler West Indies to replicate the feat last year. 

After pulling off the unthinkable, India dared to dream and will try to follow that example when the series opens on a lively track in Perth. The hosts will, however, be without their regular skipper Rohit Sharma and young batting sensation Shubman Gill. While the former is back home for the birth of his second child, the latter is injured and has thus been ruled out. This will perhaps only cater for the recent template of conquering adversity Down Under. 

But one can’t simply stand on its laurels and hope for history to repeat itself. The Indian team in transition will count on a mix of youth and experience in its pursuit to topple the World Test champion. 

India’s leading run scorer in the 2011-12 and 2014-15 Border Gavaskar Trophy, Virat Kohli is considered vital, but, without contributions from the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, the Indian challenge will collapse, like it did in the series mentioned above. 

The last time India played Australia for BGT, it showed that setting the pace isn’t the prime cause in red-ball cricket, staging a comeback from the humiliation of being bundled out for 36 in the opening test in Adelaide to script history. 

Thus, with unavailability and injury forcing India to chop and change the batting order in Perth, the visitors would know better than to mull over the first test’s result. The series opener will provide Jaiswal with a new opening pair, which could see a misfiring KL Rahul return at the top, a spot where he has batted for the majority of his start-stop career or prolific domestic run-scorer Abhimanyu Easwaran handed a debut cap despite a string of appalling performances.  Meanwhile, Dhruv Jurel, who made 80 and 68 in the second game against Australia ‘A’ and displayed his ability to play on bouncy tracks, could fill in for Gill at number 3. 

Australia seamer Hazlewood was relieved at Pujara’s exclusion from the Indian squad. Ostensibly of a somewhat new-look Indian line-up, the team perhaps, at some instance, the team might, at some point in the series, lament the void left by crisis men Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, who have been the architects of the last two series wins in the  Great Southern Land.

Pujara’s affinity to frustrate the Aussies with his fearless spirit and Rahane’s technical genius are certainly in short supply in the present setup. Batters need to understand the importance of their wickets, back their instincts in testing conditions and even put their bodies in line if required. 

In contrast, the hosts will look to make the most of the home conditions. Australia’s mainstays- Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne will have the onus to do the bulk of scoring in this series. David Warner’s retirement led to a little scramble up top, which since has been sorted out with 25-year-old Nathan McSweeney set to make his debut. 

However, the Aussie batters had a disappointing series in New Zealand earlier this year, where all-rounder Cameron Green, who is ruled out of the BGT due to injury, was the leading run-scorer. The Indian pacers will thus have an opportunity to seize on the lingering effects of that blip.

For India, stand-in skipper and bowling linchpin Jaspirt Bumrah will hold the key. The champion pacer will look to exploit the playing conditions and surprise Aussie batters with his skills. 

Only Pat Cummins (35 in eight matches) has taken more wickets than Bumrah (32 in seven matches) over the last two BGT series. The third-ranked pacer in the longest format has the best bowling average (21.25) across the two series, among bowlers to have picked more than five wickets. 

But the individualistic genius will just not be enough against Australia’s potent batting lineup. Others also need to step up and provide equal support from the other end. Mohammad Siraj, Akashdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana are the other pace bowling options for the visitors besides Bumrah. Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja and R. Ashwin are the spin alternatives in the squad. India’s bowling coach Morkel backs Nitish Rana’s bowling ability in the Australian conditions. So, it would be interesting to see if he gets a chance in this match. Ahead of the series opener let us look at how the two teams fare out on Friday.  

Match Details

Match: AUS vs IND, 1st Test, India tour of Australia, 2024-25

Date: Friday, November 22, 2024 - Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Time: 7:50 AM

Venue: Perth Stadium, Perth

Pitch and Weather Report

Traditionally, Perth pitches are known for pace and bounce and, we, believe the team selections will be heavily influenced by the playing surface here. Unseasonal rains have disrupted the curator’s work but we expect the pitch to retain some standing grass and offer variable bounce.

As per weather reports, there are 25 per cent chances of rainfall on Day 1. Showers can delay or interrupt the day’s play but we don’t see the entire day getting washed out. 

AUS vs IND Squads

AUS: Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Scott Boland

IND: Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Sarfaraz Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar, Abhimanyu Easwaran

 
AUS vs IND Probable Playing XIs

AUS: Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khwaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

IND: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, R Ashwin, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep/Prasidh Krishna.

Match Prediction

India will need some time to find the ideal team combination which will be a major boost for the hosts. Hence, we back Australia to secure a win in the opening test. 

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