India continued their dominance in the series with a win in the next test match at Perth.
Advertisement
If you see the success of the Indian team, we had quite a few players who could bat at different positions and very few who have been successful at No. 6 or 7.
“It’s a big deal for them to try and beat us and particularly for them to try and win away from home”.
India have faced some tricky selection issues of their own, most notably with lead bowler Mohammed Shami, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.
But there are certain aspects that might also relieve Dhoni.
Rishi’s presence was ignored when Dhoni was asked for a possible combination. Game-time over here actually gives you a lot of experience.
The lanky Sran looked impressive in both the practice matches with both pace and swing in his armoury. Consequently, Umesh, Ishant and Sran trained hard at nets and worked specifically on yorkers. Ajinkya Rahane is expected to bat next, with the captain coming at No 5.
In the middle-order, the No 6 slot will see a new face. The more he plays, the better he gets. Even when they came to India, they played four pacers in Tests. But the men who truly matter know it’s on… The two comprehensive victories against Western Australia XI in the warm up games ought to have demonstrated India’s potential to crash the Aussie party in their backyard. It will be interesting to see where Dhoni bats. As well as the relinquishing of their World Cup crown to Australia in last year’s semifinals, Dhoni has also led the team to a first ever series loss in Bangladesh and both ODI and T20 series defeats on home soil to South Africa.
It’s the peak of the Australian summer and things are set to get hotter! Warner, for whatever time he is available, would be a threat looming large on the bowlers. However, things will get arduous if Steven Smith gets going, with Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell.
The Australians are sticklers when it comes to picking players returning from injury even if the replaced batsman gets a big hundred like in the case of Shaun Marsh, who had to make way for Usman Khawaja when he got fit. James Faulkner’s prowess as a batsman is well known to the Indians and especially Ishant Sharma, who was hammered during the 2013 series. The teams have met thrice at WACA, with India winning one.
Immediate concerns are aplenty though, ranging from solving the batting order equation to finding the right balance with the bowling attack. India’s performances in ODI cricket have not been up to the mark since the end of the 50-over mega-event previous year, and this tour will give them a ideal opportunity to get themselves back on track. However, a more-than-capable replacement in the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar can soothe the anxiety adequately.
2015 was not a great year for India in ODI. The duo will fight it out for the third pacer spot, for Sran, with his left-arm angle and extra pace, is in line for his debut.
While Axar Patel and Harbhajan Singh did a decent job in the ODIs, they did not quite possess the cleverness and camaraderie of Jadeja and Ashwin.
A day ahead of the game, Australia have already named the playing eleven.
India limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, on Monday, admitted in Perth that his team lacked a seamer-all-rounder, and said they were likely to go in with three fast bowlers and two spinners, in the first one-day worldwide against Australia, on Tuesday. “Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade and James Faulkner can all either capitalise on a fast start from dashing David Warner and Aaron Finch, or resurrect an innings that has gone awry at the top”, he said.
Advertisement
The match starts at 08:50 AM.
