India vs Australia | India’s Predicted XI for the second Test in Perth

12/13/2018

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After a convincing win in the first innings, a high-flying India will take on Australia who will try to rejig the depleted line-up to level the series. For India, a win on the Test debut of Optus means, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be with them as the chances of the series loss would be Zero.

Openers

KL Rahul : Time is running out for the Indian opener who is putting up one lackadaisical performance after another. Sure enough, he scored a 40 in the second gig, but he threw away his wicket once again, which doesn’t augur well for his career. On a new Perth pitch, where each ball from the pacers will threaten to take a wicket, he needs to throw his mental baggage away and needs to put up a good show.

Murali Vijay : Playing five matches in Australia, Vijay averages a splendid 51.50 and that is exactly the reason why India would expect a good score from him in the Perth Test. On the last tour, he showed very good application to fend the short balls away and also made sure that he found runs easy to come by, and now, he needs to take inspiration from that.

Middle-order

Cheteshwar Pujara: If Adelaide 2003 was of Rahul Dravid’s Test, then 2018 Adelaide would be remembered for Cheteshwar Pujara. While the top five were dismissed by playing reckless shots, Pujara stayed strong and negated Nathan Lyon’s spin to take India to 250. His 72 in the second innings was a masterclass in how to stop a quality off-spinner. He will again be important for India.

Virat Kohli: For fans, any score below a hundred is a failure by Virat Kohli. He has set such high standards for himself that living up to it has become a routine. The greeny Optus pitch will pose a threat for him and certainly, has it in him to rise beyond that.

Hanuma Vihari: The Andhra player made a fantastic debut for India by scoring a fifty and picking up three wickets in the last Test against England, but found chances hard to come by after that. However, Rohit Sharma’s injury opened up a spot for him in the middle-order which he will try to use to his best effect. To go with that, he can bowl part-time off-spin, which India will bank on in the latter half of the match.

Rishabh Pant : The hard-hitting wicket-keeper batsman got out twice due to his lack of body balance, and despite his hard-hitting ability, he needs to be more composed with his approach. He took 11 catches behind the stumps, equalling the world record, and also chipped in with word or two to irritate the batsmen. He will be tested in Perth tomorrow.

Spinner

Ravindra Jadeja: As Ravichandran Ashwin is out of the team with an abdominal strain, India may go for a like to like replacement in the form of Jadeja, but theories are floating that India may go with Bhuvneshwar Kumar to take the benefit of green surface. However, Western Australia is very hot at the moment and the rough marks that will be created, may assist Jadeja, who is very good at exploiting those marks.

Pacers

Ishant Sharma: Since picking up three wickets to help India to a victory in Perth almost a decade ago, Ishant returns to Australia as a much better bowler and the bounce of Optus Stadium gives him a sense of purpose. He will be India’s prime option in the series and Australia will have to be better prepared.

Mohammed Shami: Same goes for Shami. The grass on Perth will excite Australian pacers as much as it will help their Indian counterparts. Shami is good in extracting bounce with the Kookaburra ball and if he can remain consistent throughout the match, he may emerge as India’s best bowler in the game.

Jasprit Bumrah: His ability to keep a consistent line was the reason behind the team’s execution of high-intensity bowling throughout the game. Perth requires a similar Bumrah turning up to make the game more interesting.

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