The Australian team management has decided to continue with the same team in the second Test against India which starts in Perth from Friday. Cricket Australia announced an unchanged playing XI for the second match, which is going to be the first Test to be played at the Optus stadium.
Captain Tim Paine, who suffered an injury on his right index finger on the final day of the Adelaide Test, declared himself fit and will lead the side in Perth as well. Out-of-form opener Aaron Finch has also been given another chance to prove his credentials in the longest format after he managed a duck and 11 runs in the two innings of the first Test, which Australia lost by 31 runs to concede a 1-0 series lead to India earlier this week.
During the pre-match press conference, Paine said, “He just needs that one big score at test level to give him that confidence he has at international level in T20s and ODIs. Yeah, no I’m fine. I’ve got a few niggles everywhere but I’m not alone there, I don’t think, at my age. The finger is fine, yeah.”
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The fiery pacer Mitchell Starc retains his position in the team despite the fact that what was perceived to be a sub-par performance in Adelaide and will be looking for a strong performance in conditions which are expected to favor his skills at the new Perth Stadium.
Talking about the same, Tim said, “Starcy’s been good for us. I thought the criticism he got this week’s been pretty unfair, to be honest. Barring two or three overs where he got his radar wrong, I think he’s bowled pretty well. We know his best is the best so we’re pretty pumped to have him in our team.”
Australia to stick with same XI that lost series opener to India, @samuelfez with the latest from Perth #AUSvIND https://t.co/3q0cYjLENZ pic.twitter.com/1ZhSMpXRJG
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 13, 2018
Australia playing XI: Tim Paine (c, wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Starc.
On the other hand, Team India will be forced to make two changes in their playing XI after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and batsman Rohit Sharma were ruled out of the Perth Test. Rohit faced a lower back while fielding during India’s victory in the series-opener at Adelaide Oval and is undergoing treatment, while Ashwin, who took 6-149 in the first test, is unavailable due to some pain in a left-sided abdominal.
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However, Prithvi Shaw, who missed the first Test because of an ankle injury, continues to recover and will miss the second Test as well. Describing the same, in the press release, BCCI said, “Shaw is recovering well from his left ankle injury but still undergoing treatment.”
India name 13-man squad for 2nd Test: Virat Kohli (C), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav #TeamIndia #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/dBnMLqZ7AD
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 13, 2018
With a green pitch laid out for the game, India could well look to go in with four fast bowlers in the side with Hanuma Vihari coming in as a replacement for Rohit. The toss up is likely to be between Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav.
The Indian team management shortlisted a 13-man squad for the Perth Test, here is the squad:
Virat Kohli (c), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.
