India cricket team will kick start their Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign on November 22 by taking on Australia in IND vs AUS 1st Test. The pitch at the Optus Stadium is expected to be fiery, with pacers likely to get good pace, bounce and carry. The Test will mark the start of the grueling five-match series that will see two arch-rivals lock horns.
What to expect from Perth pitch for IND vs AUS 1st Test?
Ahead of the 1st Test, West Australia Cricket head curator Issac McDonald shed some light on what to expect from the surface in IND vs AUS 1st Test. The drop in pitch that will be used for the game in Perth was moved into the Optus Stadium in October and has been curated since September. IND vs AUS 1st Test will only be the fifth international game to be played at the venue.
“This is Australia, this is Perth… I’m setting ourselves up for really good pace, really good bounce and really good carry,” WA Cricket head curator Isaac McDonald told ESPNcricinfo.
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The pitch at the Optus Stadium in Perth had turned out to be vicious in the last match that was played at the venue. Australia secured a mammoth 360-run victory against the Men in Green, with pacers making the most of the fiery surface. So far, Australia have remained undefeated at Perth in the 4 Tests they have played at the venue so far.
Will Indian batters struggle in Perth?
The surface will prove to be a challenge for Indian batters, especially the top-order which has been struggling. The likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have failed to fire in the recent series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, sparking concerns for India ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. While Rohit Sharma is likely to miss IND vs AUS 1st Test in Perth, Kohli will be eyeing to find his golden touch again. The series is a must-win for India in order to cement their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. India last faced Australia in Perth in 2018 when they were handed a 146-run defeat.
India squad for IND vs AUS Test series
Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, and Khaleel Ahmed
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