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India take a handy 1-0 lead into Perth after winning a test in which both sides were a fair way below their best. Pujara was clearly the difference in Adelaide – his ability to bat time and soak pressure was the platform that built both Indian totals.
The spotlight is still brightly on that Australian batting unit. We saw some spits and spurts of good form, but the lack of partnerships (except from the tail) is a big concern. We were lucky to get as close as we did.
Aus XI: 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Marcus Harris, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Travis Head, 7 Tim Paine (capt & wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Australia go in unchanged. You'd imagine there are a few players in the last chance saloon who need a good performance - Finch, Marsh, Handscomb, Paine and Starc would all be looking over there shoulders...a pretty fair assessment of where this team's at when nearly half of it could find themselves out come Boxing Day.
Likely Indian XI: 1 M Vijay, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt) 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Hanuma Vihari, 7 Rishabh Pant (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Two forced changes with Rohit Sharma and Ashwin out - you'd imagine it'll be like for like with the Indians looking at middle order bat Vihari and handy left-arm tweaker Jadeja.
The big talking point has been the deck. It looks green and it looks fast. This is a must-win test for Australia, and that's the kind of wicket they'll be looking forward to.
The spotlight is still brightly on that Australian batting unit. We saw some spits and spurts of good form, but the lack of partnerships (except from the tail) is a big concern. We were lucky to get as close as we did.
Aus XI: 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Marcus Harris, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Travis Head, 7 Tim Paine (capt & wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Australia go in unchanged. You'd imagine there are a few players in the last chance saloon who need a good performance - Finch, Marsh, Handscomb, Paine and Starc would all be looking over there shoulders...a pretty fair assessment of where this team's at when nearly half of it could find themselves out come Boxing Day.
Likely Indian XI: 1 M Vijay, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt) 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Hanuma Vihari, 7 Rishabh Pant (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Two forced changes with Rohit Sharma and Ashwin out - you'd imagine it'll be like for like with the Indians looking at middle order bat Vihari and handy left-arm tweaker Jadeja.
The big talking point has been the deck. It looks green and it looks fast. This is a must-win test for Australia, and that's the kind of wicket they'll be looking forward to.
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