The first day-night Test of the 2020 Test Series between India and Australia will be played in Adelaide from Thursday. The Indian team arrive with openers Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal, while fast bowling department will be handled by Mohammed Shami along with Jaspreet Bumrah, and Umesh Yadav. India has announced the playing eleven for this first day-night Test.
On the other hand, Australia, which is also suffering from injuries, will also put its full strength to maintain its dominance in pink ball cricket. The end of the year 2020 could not be better than this series.
Kohli’s brilliant batting form will be faced by Steve Smith’s relentless run-scoring, with young Marnus Labuschange challenging Cheteshwar Pujara’s insistence on staying at the crease. Match starts at half past nine on Thursday.
The Josh Hazlewood vs Mohammed Shami will also be exciting to watch, while Jasprit Bumrah would love to respond to Pat Cummins’ bouncer with his yorker.
While the experienced fast bowler like Ishant Sharma is not included in the Indian team, the Australian line-up will miss their star David Warner, which makes both teams look strong on par. However, the Australian team has more experience playing day-night test and it will definitely have edge over India. Day-night Test matches have their own specialties in which the batsmen are expected to dominate in the first season while the bowlers speak when the sun is hiding as the speed of Pink Kookaburra increases.
The day before the start of the Test match, the Indian team declared its playing eleven. From the start, the suspense was intact on the opening pair, wicketkeeper and third seamer, which now lifted the curtain. Umesh Yadav has been chosen to accompany Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami in Ishaat Sharma’s absence. Veteran paceman Ishant could become the second Indian cricketer to tour Australia five times after legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar, but an injury ruled him out of the series, picking up 68 per cent of Australian wickets on the previous tour.
Umesh did not play in the second practice match, but he took four wickets in the first practice match. KL Rahul did not get a place in the playing XI. Shubman Gill is also out. Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw will handle the opening batting front. Shubman Gill batted brilliantly in the second practice match. A half-century was scored in the second innings with Pink Ball. Earlier, he also played the only day-night Test against Bangladesh, but did not get a place in the playing XI.
Even though Rishabh Pant scored a quick century with a pink ball in the second practice match, but Riddhiman Saha became the first choice. He will be seen playing the responsibilities behind the wicket in the match starting tomorrow. Australian wickets require a skilled wicketkeeper, the basis of selection will be more keeping than batting. Apart from three pacers, Ravichandran Ashwin will take over the reins of spin alone.
Team India:
Team India Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Riddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Jaspreet Bumrah
Team Australia:
Australia will announce their final 11 during the toss. Australia: Tim Paine (captain and wicketkeeper), Joe Burrows, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschen, Nathan Lyon, Michael Naser, James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Svepson, Matthew Wade.
