The Boxing Day Test between India and Australia is scheduled to be commencing a day after Christmas and will end a day before New Year’s Eve. After suffering a forgettable loss in the first Test, India would be jonesing for a turnaround here. There are going to some major changes in the Indian team, the biggest of them being the absence of Virat Kohli.
India will dearly miss their skipper, and star batsman Kohli who went on paternity leave to be with his wife, Anushka Sharma during the birth of his first child. Ajinkya Rahane will be leading the squad in the next three matches. He surely has a big responsibility on his shoulders.
Prithvi Shaw might be expected to be dropped from the playing XI after his abysmal performance in the first Test where he scored 0 and 4 in the two innings. Shubham Gill seems to be a fine replacement for him. KL Rahul is also likely to make the XI and Hanuma Vihari might be dropped.
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On the bowling front, Mohammed Siraj seems to be the ideal replacement for the injured Mohammed Shami. It is a huge opportunity for the youngster, who missed his father’s funeral to serve his country.
ALERT🚨: #TeamIndia for 2nd Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia to be played in MCG from tomorrow announced. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/4g1q3DJmm7
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 25, 2020
Not much change is expected in the Australian squad and almost all the crucial cogs of the first match would be retained here. Tim Paine, who won the Player of the Match in the first game will lead the side. Matthew Wade and Joe Burns, who played well in the second innings, are likely to open. Pat Cummins, the highest wicket-taker of the previous match, would lead the bowling charge, along with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
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However, it will be interesting to see whether Shubman Gill Replace Prithvi Shaw and Risabh Pant come in for Wriddhiman Saha. With three other changes predicted For XI in Melbourne, here are predictions:
India Playing XI: Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
Australia Probable Playing XI: Joe Burns, Matt Wade, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Tim Paine (WK), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
