India vs Australia: Virat Kohli’s men to play their first pink ball overseas Test as Aussies look to extend their day-night winning streak

Adelaide: The Virat Kohli-led Indian side is all set to take on Tim Paine’s Australia in the four-match Test series opener on Thursday (December 17, 2020) at the Adelaide Oval.

The match will be played under the lights and will be India’s first pink-ball overseas Test. India have so far played just one day-night Test which they comfortably won against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in 2019.

On the other hand, the Aussies have played seven day-night Tests and have never lost one.

Virat Kohli in Tests at the Adelaide Oval:

Three matches
 431 runs
 Three hundreds
 71.83 average

How will the India skipper fare in the pink-ball Test?#AUSvIND | #WTC21 pic.twitter.com/tVGG1kRDre

— ICC (@ICC) December 16, 2020

Steve Smith has taken  catches in day/night Tests – the most by a fielder other than the wicket-keeper 

How many more will he take in Adelaide?  #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/3sf1BOrlxD

— ICC (@ICC) December 16, 2020

However, the Indians will have a psychological advantage as they created history when they toured Australia in 2018. India had won the four-match series 2-1 to register country’s first Test series victory on the Australian soil.

s in the last #AUSvIND Test series:

Which Aussie batter are you backing to reach three figures this time? pic.twitter.com/FpAJ1URcjv

— ICC (@ICC) December 16, 2020

India’s pace attack played a crucial role in their series win and the visitors are still confident that they have enough firepower even without the injured Ishant Sharma.

This time, India have the likes of Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Mohammad Siraj with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami.
 

ALSO READ | We have our plans in place for Australian batsmen: Indian skipper Virat Kohli
 

Australia is also up for a strong fight as they have bowling spearheads like Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.

Although, this time, both teams will struggle with their opening batsmen as David Warner and Rohit Sharma are going to miss the first Test.

Warner has been ruled out of with an adductor muscle injury and will target a return in the second game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Rohit who was injured during the Indian Premier League season and has now recovered and is likely to join the squad in the third Test after completing his COVID-19 quarantine protocols.

Meanwhile, India have revealed their playing XI and included Prithvi Shaw to open along with Mayank Agarwal. Wriddhiman Saha has also been selected as the wicketkeeper over Rishabh Pant.

UPDATE: Here’s #TeamIndia’s playing XI for the first Border-Gavaskar Test against Australia starting tomorrow in Adelaide. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/WbVRWrhqwi

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 16, 2020

Australia, however, won’t announce their starting XI until Thursday’s coin toss, but skipper Tim Paine has given a strong indication that Joe Burns will retain his place and allrounder Cameron Green is set to make his debut.

India Test squad: Virat Kohli (c) (first Test only), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj.

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner