We are back where we started with the series level and two teams with both promise and flaws face each other again on the famous ground. Cricket has been fascinating, sometimes even unpredictable. it’s been a little bit heat between players, 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Getting dangerously close to classic territory. Imagine the match being 2-2 in Sydney.
Some of the bowling that has been on show – Harshit Rana uprooting Travis Head’s off stump in Perth, Pat Cummins returning the favor against Rohit Sharma in Adelaide, Jasprit Bumrah whenever he scores – has been dreamy. So Gaba can’t be blamed for setting his sights on them. A day out, the pitch still retains its shade of green.
First innings average 18.65 runs per wicket – This figure is so rare that it has been bettered only once in the last 10 years, and that was in the only Test between England and Ireland – reflecting not only the range of the bowling attacks of both teams, but about the conditions. Also shows a little bit. Batting weakness also.
Australia are struggling for a new opener and their two most reliable run-scorers are not performing at the level they are accustomed to. India will be able to sympathize because like Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma (who may return as openers) have been more down than up. The final three are all aged in their mid-to-late 30s, so their form comes under extra scrutiny, with the surprise being that these high-profile players have yet to really impact this high-profile series. (Kohli has a century but the match winning inning was of Yashasvi Jaiswal)
Of course, there are no surprises when these two teams face each other. In 2017, Australia took the lead and India counterattacked. Same in 2021 also. In 2018 and 2023, India took the lead and Australia counterattacked. This tells you that there is nothing much separating these sides. Australia’s victory in indore last year and India’s in perth That hope was dashed two weeks ago and as these two head into the holiday season there is bound to be more excitement and thrills.
form guide
Australia: WLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first) India:LWLL
in the headlines
steven smith There are 19 runs in two tests. His last century was 24 innings ago. But there was an unbeaten 91 at the Gabba, which he served up as proof that opening the batting for Australia wasn’t actually the worst idea. Back at No. 4, due to popular demand, he had some trouble starting his innings, problems he used to avoid, such as being LBW.
Rishabh Pant Rishabh Pant’s actions continue. In Adelaide, when India had lost three wickets in the 15th over, he came out of the crease and blasted Scott Boland’s ball over cover. She was also spotted at Rundle Mall, where she stopped her shopping to play peek-a-boo with a young child. Now he is at the scene His biggest victory as a cricketer After his greatest victory as an individual.
Team News: Will Rohit return to the top order again?
India might be looking at changes, especially to its top order. Will Rohit come to open again? Is he feeling like his old self again? There were positive signs in the nets on Thursday, with almost all the batsmen, especially Kohli and Shubman Gill, improving their back-foot game.
Akash Deep was India’s third pace bowler during the domestic season and made way for a better batsman in Perth. The team no longer considers their depth a major concern, so Harshit Rana may find a way back to the bench. Washington Sundar will also be putting pressure on R Ashwin to make it to the playing eleven.
Australia has Lost two of their last four tests Here, after losing nothing in 32 years. There was a pattern to those two losses, however. Both took place at the end of the season, in January. In between, there was a Test against South Africa in December 2022, which was over in two days and was a party for the fast bowlers. And a match against England in December 2021 also ended in a nine-wicket win for Australia. Early season cricket here favors fast bowlers, with rain forecast during the Tests making this even more likely.
“(Yesterday it) looked like a good wicket, as it has been in the last few years,” Cummins said. “It’s been getting a bit of sunshine the last few days, don’t think it’s as green and leafy as it was against South Africa.”
Statistics and General Knowledge
Jasprit Bumrah’s average in this series has been 11.25 runs per wicket. The next best for India is Mohammed Siraj with 19.77 but then the gap widens.
Travis Head has an average of 80 and strike rate of 94 in this series. The next best for Australia is Alex Carey with 24 and 59.5. There is a lot left for the hosts to do there.
Pat Cummins has an excellent record at the Gabba: in seven Test matches he has taken 40 wickets at an average of 18.22
India may have only four players back from 2020-21’s famous win at the Gabba: Rohit, Gill, Pant and Siraj. If Washington plays it could be five.
Citation
“Worked on it in the Adelaide Test. It’s always in the back of your mind as Plan B, or maybe it becomes Plan A for some batsmen if it’s looking really uncomfortable or there’s a chance of taking a wicket. “I’m sure we’ll try it at some point in this test.” pat cummins On the use of short ball against Indian batsmen
