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Follow UsAfter a long break, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is set to move into the second round — the day-night Test in Adelaide. Two days before the tournament, both teams have some combination mysteries to solve.
For India, it is about the returning players — Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill — and two senior players who were on the bench in Perth — Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Gill can slot in for Devdutt Padikkal at three and Rohit would come in for Dhruv Jurel although that might not be a straight swap at number six.
For Australia, it is about losing a couple of key players — Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood. In this piece, we delve into the various ways the two teams can counter these combination issues before the vital clash in Adelaide that can dictate the terms for the rest of this series.
Who opens for India?
The biggest question ahead of the Adelaide Test. Rohit’s return means India don’t have to start with a makeshift opening combination.
But what if that ‘makeshift opening combination’ (Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul) piled up a 201-run opening stand in the first Test of the series? More than the runs, both batters looked at home during that partnership in terms of leaving the balls and adjusting their strokeplay to the conditions.
Rohit Sharma’s form would be another concern. The 37-year-old has had a drastic dip in his numbers this year. In the five Tests in India’s home season preceding this series, Rohit averaged only 13.3, including six dismissals against pace at only 16.7 runs per dismissal. He has struggled both defending and attacking the pacers upfront which ain’t good signs before starting a series in Australia.
Although Rohit revived his Test career opening the innings, but going back to the middle order doesn’t seem to be a bad proposition given the situation. Rohit also batted at four in the truncated tour game in Canberra which makes the move quite probable. However, Gautam Gambhir, the head coach, was not with the squad then and things can change with him in the set-up.
In case, Rohit bats in the middle order, his position would also be interesting to see. Rishabh Pant has been India’s number five which would push Rohit to six, where he last batted in 2018 during his struggling phase as a Test batter. Hence, taking a call on the opening combination is going to cause a few headaches for the Indian management.
Ashwin - in or out?
India’s XI in Perth surprised many given not just Ashwin but Jadeja was also on the bench. India accommodated the debutants Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana owing to the conditions and Washington Sundar was preferred over Ashwin.
Given India won with all three of them contributing in different capacities and big break between the Perth and Adelaide Test, there are big chances the visitors will continue with the same lower order.
However, there would be some discussion on Ashwin. He has bowled well in Australia over the last two tours and has his best record in Adelaide for an Australian venue — 3 matches, 16 wickets, 30.4 average.
Ashwin picked six wickets in India’s win in Adelaide in 2018 – five specialist batters and Josh Hazlewood who was the final wicket when Australia were inching closer. Moreover, Ashwin has had the wood over the Aussies, including Steve Smith. He also picked 12 wickets in three Tests of the last Australia tour, making a strong case for him in Adelaide.
If Ashwin comes in, Washington Sundar is the most like-for-like replacement. Or will India field two off-spinners? That would depend on the conditions in Adelaide which has aided spin in the past, but of late, the venue has hosted many day-night games. In the last five Tests here, off-spinners have picked 21.93% of the wickets which is even more than the left-arm pacers.
Can Jadeja come in? It looks tough, given he provides more value in batting, and India already have a few batters coming in for this Test.
The injury cloud over Mitch Marsh
Australia's camp has a couple of injury concerns, on top of the pressure of coming back in the series after a thrashing defeat.
The first is Mitchell Marsh who pulled up sore after bowling 17 overs in Perth. Australia have added Beau Webster to the squad, but the call to hand him a debut truly rests on whether Australia can head into the clash with only four bowling options.
Marsh was seen batting in the nets on Tuesday (December 3), which affirms that he is fit enough to play only as a batter. However, given the injury risk, he might not bowl with three more Tests to go in the series. Marsh was one of the better batters in Perth, scoring a handy 47 in the second innings. Considering Australia’s batting is at an all-time low at home, benching a player like Marsh because he may or may not exercise his secondary skill seems dubious
On the other hand, Webster is yet to play Test cricket. But since 2023, having turned himself into a medium-pacer, Webster has snaffled 67 wickets in first-class cricket at 30.3 runs apiece. These are handy numbers for a fifth bowling option. With the bat, he has averaged 60.9 in this time period including five hundreds in 25 matches.
Thus, Australia would have to take a big call between a more prominent Test batter and a consistent all-rounder in first-class cricket to have bowling options.
Who replaces Hazlewood?
Josh Hazlewood, Australia’s highest wicket-taker in the Perth Test (5), is ruled out of the Adelaide clash with a side strain. The hosts have added Brendan Doggett and Sean Abbott to the squad, both yet to make Test debuts.
On paper, Scott Boland seems to be the best replacement for Hazlewood. He has a brilliant record at home, having picked 28 wickets at 12.2 runs apiece. In his only Test here, he snapped 3/45 against West Indies. In his last three first-class outings here, Boland has 13 wickets at 17.2 runs per wicket. It is clearly a venue where he can shine.
However, both Doggett and Abbott have shown great form in Shield cricket. In four first-class fixtures this season, Doggett has snapped 18 wickets at an average of 24.2. It includes a career-best of 6/15, playing for Australia A against India A. Abbott, meanwhile, has played two first-class matches with 13 wickets at 19.3. In comparison, Boland averages 47.8 with the ball this season in red-ball cricket.
Abbott’s inclusion will also provide batting depth to Australia. Since 2023, he averages 36.1 with the bat, with four fifties, all coming in the County Championship. Australia can ponder playing both Webster and Abbott which will give them five bowling options along with some extra batting to make up for the loss of Marsh.
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