Before the eagerly awaited first Test match against Australia at the Optus Stadium, Team India’s players began their preparation in Perth. Optus Stadium in Perth will host the first Test of the much awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting on November 22.
For both teams’ hopes of making it to the ICC World Test Championship final, the series is vital. The visitors would be motivated following a humiliating whitewash series loss to New Zealand at home in the three-match Test series, their first Test series loss in home conditions in twelve years, even though the Australians will be hoping to get off to a strong start in their attempt to avoid a hat-trick of series losses to India at home.
For both teams’ hopes of making it to the ICC World Test Championship final, the series is vital. The visitors would be motivated following a humiliating whitewash series loss to New Zealand at home in the three-match Test series, their first Test series loss in home conditions in twelve years, even though the Australians will be hoping to get off to a strong start in their attempt to avoid a hat-trick of series losses to India at home.
The Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) ground is where India is now practicing. It is anticipated that the renowned venue would be finished with renovations before the upcoming season. Players like Pant, KL, and Jaiswal worked hard in the nets during their hour-long sessions on Tuesday, while more seasoned players like Virat, Bumrah, Jadeja, and Ashwin were absent. A number of local Perth club bowlers were chosen to unleash their bowling on Indian stars as the hitters attempted to acclimatise to the quick and bouncy conditions typical of Australia. According to ESPNCricinfo, bouncers were uncommon and back-of-a-length balls were encouraged.
India needs to win the series by 4-0 to secure their spot in the WTC final in London for the third consecutive time directly after losing the series to New Zealand 3-0 at home. The second Test, which will use the day-night format, will be played under lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6–10 following the completion series opener in Perth. Next, from December 14 to 18, fans will focus on the third Test at The Gabba in Brisbane.
The concluding part of the series will be the classic Boxing Day Test, which will take place at Melbourne’s famous Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26 to 30. The Sydney Cricket Ground will host the fifth and final Test from January 3–7, providing an entertaining conclusion to a highly anticipated series.
India’s squad for Border-Gavaskar Series:
Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.
Australia squad for the first Test:
Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc. (ANI)