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India (262 & 118/4) defeat Australia (263 & 113) by 6 wickets - Take a 2-0 lead in the series
On Wednesday, two days out from his 100th Test, Cheteshwar Pujara had a longer net stint than a couple of others who had started alongside him. After completing the customary sessions against spin, pace and throwdowns, he headed for another routine post-net chat with the head coach Rahul Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathore which was again longer than the ones that preceded him. It ended with Dravid giving him an energetic fist bump and a couple of pats on the back before sending a beaming Pujara back into the dressing room.
For India, it was emblematic of what this Test would mean for one of their biggest contributors over thirteen years. But even as that occasion engulfs a lot of pre-match talk for a change, the usual suspect isn't far behind.
Pujara himself was amongst the ones from both teams that has had close inspections of the 22 yards, with Cummins later saying that he was "not too sure" of what to make of it, apart from expecting it to spin. There haven't been other indicators to suggest otherwise as well with the pitch also remaining covered with a mat for large periods of the day. With temperatures staying low in the mornings, the early sessions could well offer some more assistance for movement apart from what's available off the surface.
These factors, in turn, are set to dictate some of the team combinations even as neither team finalized a eleven a day ahead of the Test match, a far cry from the times when they were announcing the playing elevens 24 hours earlier.
Another factor for not announcing playing elevens is that both teams are battling with players out of form, or coming back from injury. For India, with the lead in the series, there is room for giving more chances to the ones out of form whereas Australia will be considering multiple factors to dictate their choices including playing the right horses for the course.
But the challenges would not be limited to that alone, if the pace off the pitch is slow as it was in Nagpur, it would require their spinners as well as fast bowlers to alter plans accordingly. Its easier said than done, but with India currently answering those tough questions adeptly, Australia cannot afford to be left too far behind. There's an opportunity to pick a few tricks from the opposition, but can they also get their executions with a short turnaround time? The answer awaits.
When: Friday, February 17 at 09:30 AM IST
Where: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
What to expect: The pitch at the Ferozshah Kotla ground is expected to play on the drier side. Traditionally the track has a tendency to be slow as well, which could mean that the batters may have time to adjust for spin off the surface as well, thereby making it a little easier to bat on.
Teams:
India
Shreyas Iyer, returning from injury, has had a couple of hits out in the days leading up to the Test without any visible signs of discomfort. If fit, he's set to replace Suryakumar Yadav in the middle order.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammad Siraj
Australia
Australia's skipper remained non-committal about any potential changes to the team a day ahead of the Test match. Australia have had Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc doing some bowling in the lead-up to the Test but will still be sweating over their fitness and will be wary of rushing them in too soon. If available, however, the duo will add a lot of balance to the side, even as the question remains over the possibility of including a third spinner given the conditions on offer.
Probable XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head/Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb/Cameron Green, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins (C), Scott Boland/Mitchell Starc, Todd Murphy, Nathan Lyon
Did you know
- This will be Australia's eighth Test in Delhi - the most they have played at a venue in India. Their only win at this venue came in their very first match here during the 1959/60 tour.
- Anil Kumble is the only Indian bowler with 100+ wickets in Tests against an opponent - 111 vs Australia. R Ashwin is on 97 wickets against Australia from 19 Tests.
- Nathan Lyon needs nine more wickets to surpass Shane Warne to become the leading wicket-taker among visiting bowlers in Asia. In his only appearance at Ferozshah Kotla in 2013, Lyon picked 9/165 - his best match figures in India.
What they said:
"It's an adjustment. Even the last game we saw a lot of around-the-wicket bowling whereas in Australia it's mainly over-the-wicket bowling. The close catchers don't feel like the ball's going to pop up as much when there isn't as much bounce. Bit of an adjustment. Side spinners, just changing up your angles a bit more. All those things come into a bit more. I think the bowlers did a really good job, both spinners last game. It's a bit of an adjustment but in some ways it doesn't get any better. You have a wicket there that's spinning for you, you can show how good you are" - Pat Cummins feels that along with his batter, his spinners too have some realigning to do
"I can definitely say, having played white-ball cricket recently, it has helped me a lot. I have played for Saurashtra and for Sussex, I have tried playing a few shots, I have tried using the sweep shot against fast bowlers, playing the paddle, and played a few reverse sweeps as well. I have had to open my mindset because when I want to implement a few shots in Test cricket, you are a bit more flexible and a bit more open-minded towards trying things out. That has helped me be successful, even in Bangladesh, where I had to play a few shots to accelerate the scoring. You need to be open to changes. As a person, I don't think a lot has changed. I am still the same Cheteshwar. If you speak to some of the team-mates, speak to people who know me, they will say the same. I don't think you need to change as a person as long as you're a good human being" - Cheteshwar Pujara on what has changed in him as a batter and as a person over 99 Tests
Preview: India vs Australia, 2nd Test
Squads:
India Squad: Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat(w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav
Australia Squad: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Todd Murphy, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Agar, Matthew Kuhnemann, Lance Morris
==
All posters please take note of the following guidelines for match threads on PakPassion:
1. No personal insults at other posters, players, officials, coaching staffs etc.
2. No making fun of player's, official's, coaching staff's names.
3. Do not add any references to media, their social media or post any pictures or screenshots from other sports websites.
4. Stick to commenting on this match. There is no need to bring other countries into the match discussion as there are plenty of other threads where those discussions can be added.
On Wednesday, two days out from his 100th Test, Cheteshwar Pujara had a longer net stint than a couple of others who had started alongside him. After completing the customary sessions against spin, pace and throwdowns, he headed for another routine post-net chat with the head coach Rahul Dravid and batting coach Vikram Rathore which was again longer than the ones that preceded him. It ended with Dravid giving him an energetic fist bump and a couple of pats on the back before sending a beaming Pujara back into the dressing room.
For India, it was emblematic of what this Test would mean for one of their biggest contributors over thirteen years. But even as that occasion engulfs a lot of pre-match talk for a change, the usual suspect isn't far behind.
Pujara himself was amongst the ones from both teams that has had close inspections of the 22 yards, with Cummins later saying that he was "not too sure" of what to make of it, apart from expecting it to spin. There haven't been other indicators to suggest otherwise as well with the pitch also remaining covered with a mat for large periods of the day. With temperatures staying low in the mornings, the early sessions could well offer some more assistance for movement apart from what's available off the surface.
These factors, in turn, are set to dictate some of the team combinations even as neither team finalized a eleven a day ahead of the Test match, a far cry from the times when they were announcing the playing elevens 24 hours earlier.
Another factor for not announcing playing elevens is that both teams are battling with players out of form, or coming back from injury. For India, with the lead in the series, there is room for giving more chances to the ones out of form whereas Australia will be considering multiple factors to dictate their choices including playing the right horses for the course.
But the challenges would not be limited to that alone, if the pace off the pitch is slow as it was in Nagpur, it would require their spinners as well as fast bowlers to alter plans accordingly. Its easier said than done, but with India currently answering those tough questions adeptly, Australia cannot afford to be left too far behind. There's an opportunity to pick a few tricks from the opposition, but can they also get their executions with a short turnaround time? The answer awaits.
When: Friday, February 17 at 09:30 AM IST
Where: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
What to expect: The pitch at the Ferozshah Kotla ground is expected to play on the drier side. Traditionally the track has a tendency to be slow as well, which could mean that the batters may have time to adjust for spin off the surface as well, thereby making it a little easier to bat on.
Teams:
India
Shreyas Iyer, returning from injury, has had a couple of hits out in the days leading up to the Test without any visible signs of discomfort. If fit, he's set to replace Suryakumar Yadav in the middle order.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammad Siraj
Australia
Australia's skipper remained non-committal about any potential changes to the team a day ahead of the Test match. Australia have had Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc doing some bowling in the lead-up to the Test but will still be sweating over their fitness and will be wary of rushing them in too soon. If available, however, the duo will add a lot of balance to the side, even as the question remains over the possibility of including a third spinner given the conditions on offer.
Probable XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head/Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb/Cameron Green, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins (C), Scott Boland/Mitchell Starc, Todd Murphy, Nathan Lyon
Did you know
- This will be Australia's eighth Test in Delhi - the most they have played at a venue in India. Their only win at this venue came in their very first match here during the 1959/60 tour.
- Anil Kumble is the only Indian bowler with 100+ wickets in Tests against an opponent - 111 vs Australia. R Ashwin is on 97 wickets against Australia from 19 Tests.
- Nathan Lyon needs nine more wickets to surpass Shane Warne to become the leading wicket-taker among visiting bowlers in Asia. In his only appearance at Ferozshah Kotla in 2013, Lyon picked 9/165 - his best match figures in India.
What they said:
"It's an adjustment. Even the last game we saw a lot of around-the-wicket bowling whereas in Australia it's mainly over-the-wicket bowling. The close catchers don't feel like the ball's going to pop up as much when there isn't as much bounce. Bit of an adjustment. Side spinners, just changing up your angles a bit more. All those things come into a bit more. I think the bowlers did a really good job, both spinners last game. It's a bit of an adjustment but in some ways it doesn't get any better. You have a wicket there that's spinning for you, you can show how good you are" - Pat Cummins feels that along with his batter, his spinners too have some realigning to do
"I can definitely say, having played white-ball cricket recently, it has helped me a lot. I have played for Saurashtra and for Sussex, I have tried playing a few shots, I have tried using the sweep shot against fast bowlers, playing the paddle, and played a few reverse sweeps as well. I have had to open my mindset because when I want to implement a few shots in Test cricket, you are a bit more flexible and a bit more open-minded towards trying things out. That has helped me be successful, even in Bangladesh, where I had to play a few shots to accelerate the scoring. You need to be open to changes. As a person, I don't think a lot has changed. I am still the same Cheteshwar. If you speak to some of the team-mates, speak to people who know me, they will say the same. I don't think you need to change as a person as long as you're a good human being" - Cheteshwar Pujara on what has changed in him as a batter and as a person over 99 Tests
Preview: India vs Australia, 2nd Test
Squads:
India Squad: Rohit Sharma(c), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat(w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav
Australia Squad: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Todd Murphy, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Agar, Matthew Kuhnemann, Lance Morris
==
All posters please take note of the following guidelines for match threads on PakPassion:
1. No personal insults at other posters, players, officials, coaching staffs etc.
2. No making fun of player's, official's, coaching staff's names.
3. Do not add any references to media, their social media or post any pictures or screenshots from other sports websites.
4. Stick to commenting on this match. There is no need to bring other countries into the match discussion as there are plenty of other threads where those discussions can be added.
