Australia vs India | 1st Test | Adelaide | Dec 6-10, 2018 | Pre-Match Discussion Thread

[ILcricket]

Adelaide is considered to be the best batting surface amongst all Test venues in Australia & first 2 innings are generally big scores . In last 4 sessions , uneven bounce comes in to play .
Australian bowling attack is fixed with 4 usual bowlers & 5th bowling option in M Marsh .
Indian bowling attack is rather difficult to predict . I being a firm believer in 5 bowling options would like to see Ashvin at 7 ,then Bhuvi , followed by Kuldeep , Shami & Umesh . It is likely Kohli will stick to 4 bowlers & go for Kuldeep + Bumrah , Shami & Sharma . Predicting Kohli's likely 11 is very dicey .
I expect Australia to win the 1st Test .
Your opinion about pitch , visitors likely bowling attack & prediction about outcome ?

 

[Justcrazy]

India likely to play 4 specialist bowlers one spinner and three pacers.

This is a very good batting surface , India would love to bat first.

 

[ILcricket]

India likely to play 4 specialist bowlers one spinner and three pacers.

This is a very good batting surface , India would love to bat first.

it is a win toss bat surface , always has been .

 

[Mohammad zuber]

M.vijay
Kl.rahuk
C.(aisian pitch bradman)pujara
V.kohli
A.rahane
R.pant
R.jadeja
R.ashwin
M.shami
I.sharma
J.bumrah
We are not going to won the match but this is best line up i think 1change can made in place of ashwin

 

[Justcrazy]

M.vijay
Kl.rahuk
C.(aisian pitch bradman)pujara
V.kohli
A.rahane
R.pant
R.jadeja
R.ashwin
M.shami
I.sharma
J.bumrah
We are not going to won the match but this is best line up i think 1change can made in place of ashwin

I do not think Kuldeep can be dropped.

 

[Mohammad zuber]

I do not think Kuldeep can be dropped.

You can't play a chinaman bowler on flat tracks of australia sololy because of his bowling

 

[Saurav]

Vijay
Rahul
Pujara
Kohli
Rahane(last chance)
Pant
Jadeja
Bhuvi
Shami
Ishant
Bumrah

Bhuvi to do Pandya's role of bowling lots of overs and batting a bit.Jadeja as spinner as hes been doing well since Eng tour.Been better than Ash with both bat and ball

 

[Ahmed216]

last 3 test matches at adelaide oval havent been very high scoring..

reasons?? relaid pitch?? day-nighters??

 

[battler]

Vijay
Rahul
Pujara
Kohli
Rahane(last chance)
Pant
Jadeja
Bhuvi
Shami
Ishant
Bumrah

Bhuvi to do Pandya's role of bowling lots of overs and batting a bit.Jadeja as spinner as hes been doing well since Eng tour.Been better than Ash with both bat and ball

Don't you feel Kuldeep could be handy? Jadeja isn't going to present much of a threat with the ball.

 

[Saksham]

Honestly in a test series the 1st match plays a very important role . If India loses the 1st match than there is no way they will be able to fight back in this series . If India wins the game or turns out to be a draw than India will be more confident going into the 2nd test . I personally feel India has to play 7 proper batsmen and 4 proper bowlers .
Playing XI for the 1st Test :
1. Rahul
2. Vijay
3. Pujara
4. Kohli (C)
5. Rahane
6. Vihari
7. Pant (WK)
8. Jadeja
9. Shami/Yadav
10. Ishant
11. Bumrah

I will prefer Hanuma Vihari over Rohit Sharma . I will prefer Ravindra Jadeja over Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav . The team management should pick either Umesh Yadav or Mohammad Shami .

 

[Saurav]

Don't you feel Kuldeep could be handy? Jadeja isn't going to present much of a threat with the ball.

Kuldeep doesn't have the control yet to bowl on unresponsive pitches.Gets away with it in Asia coz of turn,but here He's only going to be smacked as we saw in England too.Historically chinaman bowlers haven't done well in Tests,I'm not sure why that would suddenly change

Jadeja might not take wickets,but he can hold an end up and bowl long spells,building up pressure.That and his improved batting in Tests and fielding makes him a good option in absence of Pandya

 

[Saurav]

Honestly in a test series the 1st match plays a very important role . If India loses the 1st match than there is no way they will be able to fight back in this series . If India wins the game or turns out to be a draw than India will be more confident going into the 2nd test . I personally feel India has to play 7 proper batsmen and 4 proper bowlers .
Playing XI for the 1st Test :
1. Rahul
2. Vijay
3. Pujara
4. Kohli (C)
5. Rahane
6. Vihari
7. Pant (WK)
8. Jadeja
9. Shami/Yadav
10. Ishant
11. Bumrah

I will prefer Hanuma Vihari over Rohit Sharma . I will prefer Ravindra Jadeja over Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav . The team management should pick either Umesh Yadav or Mohammad Shami .

3 pacers wont be enough

 

[Romali_rotti]

Absolutely crushed I wont get to see Prithvi Shaw, I haven't been this excited since watching a young teenage SRT ............. God damniiitttt

 

[Last Monetarist]

You can't play a chinaman bowler on flat tracks of australia sololy because of his bowling

What ? Traditional finger spinners like Ashwin and Jadeja are going to be highly ineffective. You need a wrist-spinner to extract turn and bounce on those flat wickets. I don't know if Kuldeep will rise to the challenge or not, but on paper he's India's best hope of taking wickets with the old kookaburra.

 

[Robert]

India likely to play 4 specialist bowlers one spinner and three pacers.

This is why I can't take the word "pacer" seriously. A lost sweet from my boyhood which I wish would return.

 

[Last Monetarist]

Kuldeep doesn't have the control yet to bowl on unresponsive pitches.Gets away with it in Asia coz of turn,but here He's only going to be smacked as we saw in England too.Historically chinaman bowlers haven't done well in Tests,I'm not sure why that would suddenly change

Jadeja might not take wickets,but he can hold an end up and bowl long spells,building up pressure.That and his improved batting in Tests and fielding makes him a good option in absence of Pandya

I don't think Jadeja will be able to build any pressure on Australian wickets, he's more likely to be milked on those large outfields.

I agree Kuldeep is an unknown quantity on these pitches, but this is an inexperienced Australian batting line-up, I think he can prove a handful if he is backed by his captain. He was smacked in England because they were intelligent enough to select him on a greentop.

 

[Invincible Gujjar]

An epic phainty awaits for India.Indian phast bowlers will be given the beating of lifetime.Come on Aussies show them how it's done.

 

[giri26]

‘I’ve become more assured of myself’ – Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli, the focus of most of the attention ahead of the Australia v India Test series, feels he is a lot calmer than he was the last time he travelled to the country.

Kohli has played Test cricket in Australia during the 2011-12 tour, and then in 2014-15. His record there is fantastic – 992 runs in eight Tests at an average of 62, with five centuries. Four of those came on the last tour, when he batted at a plane higher than his teammates.

But for Kohli, who became full-time Indian Test captain during that tour, the match-ups were also characterised by staring contests with the bowlers, especially Mitchell Johnson. He hasn’t lost his aggression, but the passage of time has made him calmer, he feels.

“I think from last time round, I've become more assured of myself, I don't really find the need to prove anything to anyone ... I don't find the need to get involved in anything with the opposition and I think those are changes that keep happening gradually as you go forward,” Kohli said in a chat with Macquarie Sports Radio.

India are the No.1 side in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings, and though they haven’t won series in the countries considered the toughest to tour for teams from the subcontinent, they have competed hard.

“Now the focus is purely and solely on making the team win at any cost,” Kohli said ahead of the series of four Tests, which many feel gives India their best chance of trumping Australia in their backyard.

India warmed up for the first Test, starting in Adelaide on 6 December, with a four-day game against a Cricket Australia XI, in which Kohli was one of five Indians to score a half-century in the first innings. He also picked up the wicket of centurion Harry Nielsen with his medium pace.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/927882

 

[Mamba Red]

India has already taken a day off today, they only played 3 days and are already tired? Like I said lazy and unfit.

 

[RamLakhan]

If Rahul is not going to utilize this opportunity then he should slap himself! With Shaw's injury his opening spot it assured now and he can't get luckier than this (Shaw's injury has hurt India, but personally Rahul should take up the responsibility) Enough of him thinking not getting backed up or given chances, now he has got all kind of chances! The sharp inswinger nightmare is not going to bother him much in Australia as the ball bounces up and if he can handle bounce he will be fine! But if he still gets into some other kind of trap then it is more to do with mindset rather than technical issues...

 

[Ashraful_Rox]

India bat first - 620/ 2 declare
Kohli 287

Aussies 139 & 220 all out

This has been so hyped and Indian experts thinks they have already won. I don’t even feel like watching the highlights. I only watch highlights of test matches.

Someone please quote me in the Aus vs India match in World Cup, not the Odis. Not excited for this boring series

 

[ILcricket]

I still think Kohli will be defensive & go with just 4 bowling options which is a pity . Kuldeep + Shami + 2 more pacers .

 

[Bilal7]

I still think Kohli will be defensive & go with just 4 bowling options which is a pity . Kuldeep + Shami + 2 more pacers .

Picture this: Australia win the toss and bat, see off the new ball and Finch gets going against the third pacer - likely Shami or Yadav - who is known to leak runs. Kohli then has to turn to Kuldeep in order to control the flow of runs/pick wickets on the first day of a test match in Adelaide. The Indians are going to have a bad time.

Jadeja would be the most effective spinner for India and can also score valuable runs. It should be a no-brainer.

 

[ILcricket]

Picture this: Australia win the toss and bat, see off the new ball and Finch gets going against the third pacer - likely Shami or Yadav - who is known to leak runs. Kohli then has to turn to Kuldeep in order to control the flow of runs/pick wickets on the first day of a test match in Adelaide. The Indians are going to have a bad time.

Jadeja would be the most effective spinner for India and can also score valuable runs. It should be a no-brainer.

I know where you are coming from but Jads in 1st innings will be trying to dry a end up & remember the short side boundaries .

 

[ILcricket]

Grass on pitch .

 

[ILcricket]

Grass on pitch .

3 pacers & spinner for visitors . Curator says keeping grass on wicket as though it is pink-ball but will uncover the pitch earlier . Batting first a side could very easily roll under 200 & i think it will be us

 

[Justcrazy]

India will go with 4 bowlers , at least in first test . They will go safe.

 

[MenInG]

This is building up nicely. Kohli batting video, other tidbits of news... hype/super hype...

 

[ILcricket]

India name 12 for Adelaide : M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Md. Shami ..
So bowling attack is finalized .

 

[Bilal7]

Are Australia playing Marsh or Handscomb? some contradictory information on media

Grass on the pitch? Oh boy, someone is going to get bowled out for 40.

 

[MenInG]

Victoria batsman Marcus Harris is expected to be handed his Baggy Green in the first Test against India.

"We’re pretty sure Marcus Harris will make his debut which is very exciting for him," Justin Langer, the Australia head coach, told SEN radio.

The left-hander has amassed 4153 runs in 68 first-class matches at an average of 35.49 with a highest score of 250*.

"He's scored 500 runs in Shield cricket in eight innings, that's a great way to go into a Test match. He’s a terrific young player and he’s looked very good in some of the most competitive net sessions I’ve seen for a long time in Australian cricket. He's looked very composed."

Langer added that the management is yet to make a decision between Peter Handscomb and Mitchell Marsh for the "last batting spot" in the Australian playing XI.

"We’ll make the decision on the last batting spot later today. At this stage, I’d say it’ll be either Peter Handscomb or Mitchell Marsh who’ll take the five or six position," he explained. "We’ll have a look at that and come up with a decision later on today."

Australia will be without Steve Smith and David Warner, who are serving their one-year bans after the Newlands ball-tampering incident. This is the first time the side will compete in home conditions since then.

While this seems like India's best chance to clinch their first series in Australia, Langer feels that the visitors' past record Down Under will still put them "under great pressure".

"They're a good team and they've got a couple of great players and we will show them great respect," he acknowledged. "They haven't had great success in Australia in the past, as Australia haven't had in India. It will be a new set of circumstances for them.

"They'll also be under great pressure I think. You sense they're smelling blood, like the great Australian cricket team of 2001 felt and we just fell short and we were able to (win in India in) 2004. You sense these moments. I'm sensing India feel that.

"That said, they're up against a really talented young Australian cricket team who have got plenty to prove. We've been through so much in the last nine months. We've been rolling our sleeves up, we've got plenty to prove as well."

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/932154

 

[MenInG]

Mitchell Marsh is hoping to get into the playing XI for the first Test against India and, if selected, wants to contribute more to Australia’s cause with the ball.

One of two vice-captains of the Australian Test side along with Josh Hazlewood, Marsh is anything but a certainty in the XI.

“My goal this summer is to start really chipping in with the ball and get some more wickets for the team. I love coming on in the graveyard shift after 70 or 80 overs when the ball's doing nothing and trying to sneak a wicket. I really want to take my bowling to the next level in this team,” said Marsh, who overcame a major ankle injury this year to return to top-flight cricket.

Among former cricketers to say that Marsh didn’t belong in Australia’s best Test XI, even at home, are Simon Katich and Geoff Lawson.

Mitchell Marsh scored just 30 runs in four innings in the UAE against Pakistan Mitchell Marsh scored just 30 runs in four innings in the UAE against Pakistan
Marsh’s 151 for Western Australia against Queensland in the Sheffield Shield was a strong effort, but critics have pointed to the 1 and 44 against South Australia and 6 and 30 against New South Wales.

“After the UAE, there's no doubt that there were a few question marks about me,” Marsh acknowledged. “But I'm really pumped if I'm selected to get out there in front of Australian crowds again. It's a great time of year and I'm feeling good.

“I'm doing my best to make the No.6 position my own in this team and that's all I can do.”

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/930573

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Are Australia playing Marsh or Handscomb? some contradictory information on media

Grass on the pitch? Oh boy, someone is going to get bowled out for 40.

No contradiction on Cricinfo anyway. Mitch marsh has been dropped for handscomb

 

[ILcricket]

Hosts too playing safe & opting to go in with just 4 bowling options . Hopefully the grassy pitch means no big scores .

 

[Junaids]

No contradiction on Cricinfo anyway. Mitch marsh has been dropped for handscomb

Crazy.

Starc or Cummins will have stress fractures by the end of the series thanks to this.

 

[ILcricket]

With pitch being grassy , what does 1 do after winning the toss ? Traditionally Adelaide is win toss bat first venue .

 

[Kohli The King of Chase]

So, it's between Rohit and Vihari

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Crazy.

Starc or Cummins will have stress fractures by the end of the series thanks to this.

Agreed. It's a crazy move. India might avoid a 4-0 whitewash now that Mitch marsh the all-rounder is not playing.

 

[Abdullah719]

Australia XI: Harris, Finch, Khawaja, Marsh, Handscomb, Head, Paine, Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood, Lyon

 

[Canford Cliffs]

Australia XI: Harris, Finch, Khawaja, Marsh, Handscomb, Head, Paine, Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood, Lyon

Its actually not that bad a squad even without Warner/Smith. Finch, Khawaja, S.Marsh and Handscomb are pretty good batsman especially at home. And that bowling attack is scary. Indians will have their work cut out.

Remember, we couldnt win the series in 2004 tour with all our superstar fab4 players playing and Aussies missing McGrath/Warne. Actually that was our best chance compared to now.

 

[Mamba Red]

Aussie...Aussie...Aussie oi oi oi!!

 

[Kohli The King of Chase]

We'll smash these angrez and end some careers along the way.

Go India go!

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

We'll smash these angrez and end some careers along the way.

Go India go!

We should think about ourselves first. Rahane's and KL Rahul's careers are on the line.

 

[Mamba Red]

Hot start to the test series it will be 39 degrees tomorrow and between 38 - 42 degrees for the test.

 

[cricketindiafan]

Interestingly both sides have gone with 6 batsmen and 4 bowlers. Defensive move by both to go with only 4 bowlers. We should have picked either Bhuvi or Jadeja instead of a number 6 batsman. A 4 bowler attack will reduce the potency of the pacers as they'll each have to bowl 23-24 overs per day and not 16-18 that they have bowled in SA and England.

Hopefully we do not pick Rohit Sharma ahead of Vihari.

 

[Ab Fan]

We should think about ourselves first. Rahane's and KL Rahul's careers are on the line.

We will humiliate them in their own backyard. A humiliation of lifetime coming for the Aussies.

 

[docteurmanish]

india loosing 3-1 .

 

[cricketworm]

Unfortunately, Vihari is likely to play over Rohit despite Rohit's form. However, it's not a bad call either. Vihari will get in 15 overs per inning, will be great change up part timer. I will play Ishant, Shami and Bumrah with Ashwin. Vihari will bat at 7. Pant 6. Rahane at 5. Kohli 4. Che 3. Vijay 2. Rahul 1.

On paper it will be hard to take 20 wickets for this side. But hey it's Australia!!

 

[ILcricket]

Both teams have bolstered their batting & gone with just 4 bowling options which i do not think is a good strategy . It seems the grass is gone going by cricinfo preview , pitch looks dry with hot weather predicted . I wish we had played 5 batsmen , keeper , Ashwin at 7 & Jadeja at 8 followed by 3 pacers . With temperature range being 36 to 40 degrees , pacers from both sides are in for a 20 overs a day kind of workload with lone spinner bowling the rest .
I back Aussies to win this .

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

We will humiliate them in their own backyard. A humiliation of lifetime coming for the Aussies.

Don't post like Bhaijaan.

 

[MMHS]

Going to be a cracker of a Test match. Adelaide is one of those tracks, where probably Captain won't mind losing toss. Both team is so batting heavy that it might end in a rare draw there.

 

[Ab Fan]

Don't post like Bhaijaan.

Well, Bhaijaan has learned this art from me only. It required me to give him years of training for this.

 

[TeamPak95]

Should be an exciting series

 

[battler]

Going to be a cracker of a Test match. Adelaide is one of those tracks, where probably Captain won't mind losing toss. Both team is so batting heavy that it might end in a rare draw there.

I would argue on the contrary. Unless the pitch is a dead set road the match will not end in a draw. Just think of it, from India who can you trust with the bat? Only one name comes to mind virat kohli and for Australia probably khawaja. I wouldn't be surprised if the game ended in a draw.

 

[MMHS]

I would argue on the contrary. Unless the pitch is a dead set road the match will not end in a draw. Just think of it, from India who can you trust with the bat? Only one name comes to mind virat kohli and for Australia probably khawaja. I wouldn't be surprised if the game ended in a draw.

I think, you wanted to write "would".

It's tough to think of a Drawn Test these days if scheduled 450 overs are possible; but in recent AUS, we have seen some absolute batting belters, even last AUS-IND Test at Adelaide could have ended in draw. This year's both Shield game at Adelaide was moderate scoring game, therefore hope it isn't an absolute road.

 

[Varun]

del

 

[Varun]

Going to be a cracker of a Test match. Adelaide is one of those tracks, where probably Captain won't mind losing toss. Both team is so batting heavy that it might end in a rare draw there.

Don't ask me how. If I wake up tomorrow and see that we are bowling, I KNOW that we are going to lose.

For the record, the last time we chased 100+ in the last dig was at Adelaide.

But the problem is we have played 3 more tests in ADL in between.

And dozens elsewhere.

And choked in all of them.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">India have announced their 12 for the first <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUSvIND?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AUSvIND</a> Test! <br><br>Kohli (c), Rahane, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rohit, Vihari, Pant, Ashwin, Shami, Ishant, Bumrah.<br><br>Who will be the one to miss out? <a href="https://t.co/edElklldN9">pic.twitter.com/edElklldN9</a></p>— ICC (@ICC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1070157317432328192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Ab Fan]

Australia always wins the toss and opt to bat in first test and put 450 on board. The game ends there itself for us.

 

[battler]

I think, you wanted to write "would".

It's tough to think of a Drawn Test these days if scheduled 450 overs are possible; but in recent AUS, we have seen some absolute batting belters, even last AUS-IND Test at Adelaide could have ended in draw. This year's both Shield game at Adelaide was moderate scoring game, therefore hope it isn't an absolute road.

Yes I meant 'would' my bad .
There are reports that this pitch won't be your typical Adelaide road that we have come to witness in the recent past.There might be some grass left on the pitch. Should be a cracker of a game if that is the case!

 

[Ab Fan]

Vihari can bowl some overs as well. So, India should start with him. No Kuldeep is a surprise. But given the overall value which Ashwin adds up, hard to ignore him.

Rahul
Vijay
Pujara
Kohli
Rahane
Vihari
Pant (wkt)
Ashwin
Shami
Bumrah
Ishant

 

[battler]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">India have announced their 12 for the first <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AUSvIND?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AUSvIND</a> Test! <br><br>Kohli (c), Rahane, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rohit, Vihari, Pant, Ashwin, Shami, Ishant, Bumrah.<br><br>Who will be the one to miss out? <a href="https://t.co/edElklldN9">pic.twitter.com/edElklldN9</a></p>— ICC (@ICC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1070157317432328192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Toss up between Rohit and Vihari. Hope Vihari is picked.

 

[battler]

Don't ask me how. If I wake up tomorrow and see that we are bowling, I KNOW that we are going to lose.

For the record, the last time we chased 100+ in the last dig was at Adelaide.

But the problem is we have played 3 more tests in ADL in between.

And dozens elsewhere.

And choked in all of them.

I swear man! I want to see Rahul and Kohli slamming their way to hundreds! Though with Rahul it seems like a distant dream given the form he is in.

 

[battler]

Vihari can bowl some overs as well. So, India should start with him. No Kuldeep is a surprise. But given the overall value which Ashwin adds up, hard to ignore him.

Rahul
Vijay
Pujara
Kohli
Rahane
Vihari
Pant (wkt)
Ashwin
Shami
Bumrah
Ishant

I feel that if we are going with 6 pure bats + pant then we needed 4 out and out wicket takers and Ashwin is not a wicket taker in Aus by any stretch of imagination. Should have gone in with Kuldeep with this combination. Now all the wicket-taking burden is on the 3 quicks.

 

[MMHS]

Yes I meant 'would' my bad .
There are reports that this pitch won't be your typical Adelaide road that we have come to witness in the recent past.There might be some grass left on the pitch. Should be a cracker of a game if that is the case!

Hope so - 2 of the 3 Shield games ended in draws this year, but both were tight draws (in 4 days), and lots of encouragements for pacers in 1st 2 days. Also, I think AUS'll regret if they put a similar wicket like 2014-15 - they need a hard, deep rooted brownish wicket with a bit of crack on it for their average 6'6" height pace attack, and bring joy to their hit through the line hacks (never thought I'll write that term to AUS batting). On a dry mud bed or green top IND should start favorite.

 

[cricketindiafan]

I feel that if we are going with 6 pure bats + pant then we needed 4 out and out wicket takers and Ashwin is not a wicket taker in Aus by any stretch of imagination. Should have gone in with Kuldeep with this combination. Now all the wicket-taking burden is on the 3 quicks.

They are playing it safe un first test by having 6 specialist batsmen + Pant. Ould easily have gone for two out of Ashwin/ Bhuvi/Jadeja as all rounder. My choice would have been Bhuvi and Jadeja. The 6th specialist batsmen isn't going to much, better to have someone who can svore 20-25 runs and bowl 15-18 overs.

Bhuvi still looks to have some fitness issues else this team management would not have benched him. Ashwin hasn't bowled enough after his injury abd looked in no rhythm in the practice match. Kuldeep may play at Sydney.