One of the most anticipated series of the year kicks off as Australia host India in the latest edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The Men in Blue have some concerns on their hands as captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will be unavailable for the opening Test. This a big series for both the sides, especially India with regards to the World Test Championship (WTC) as they need a big series win to stay in contention for next year’s final.
Ahead of the first Test, here are our match preview and predictions.
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Captain Sharma is set to miss the first Test due to the birth of his second child. Gill has also been ruled out of the Perth Test due to a fractured thumb. KL Rahul is expected to come in, while the talented Bengal opener Abhimanyu Easwaran should be slotting in for Sharma. The remainder of India’s batting line-up isn’t very experienced either, and there will be a lot of responsibility on Rahul and Virat Kohli. One option for the Men in Blue will be promoting Rahul up the order to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal, allowing the team to bring Dhruv Jurel in at No. 3 to fill in for Gill.
While Mohammed Shami has returned from injury, he has not travelled to Australia, which leaves the Indian pace line-up a bit thin on experience as well. Jasprit Bumrah, who will be leading the squad in the first Test, will lead the bowling attack with Mohammed Siraj, though the relative inexperience here can come back to bite the Men in Blue. On a fast Perth strip, India may introduce Nitish Kumar Reddy to the international circuit.
The hosts, on the other hand, have a much more experienced batting line-up compared to that of India, though the senior Australian batters haven’t had the best of times during the ongoing 2023/25 WTC cycle. Travis Head, Steve Smith, and Marnus Labuschange all have struggled to get going, which has left an opening slot up for grabs for someone like Nathan McSweeney.
With the ball, though, the storied line-up of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon, who will be supported further by with Mitch Marsh and Scott Boland, can be expected to deliver the goods once again.
The WACA strip has always been a fast and bouncy one; expect no difference this time. The hosts are our favourites to win this one not only because of their superior pace attack but also given the absence of Sharma and Gill on the other end.
Fantasy XI: Travis Head, KL Rahul, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins
Venue: Perth
Winners Prediction: Australia
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