Australia and India. (Source – Getty Images)
The highly-anticipated Border-GavaskarTrophy 2024-25 is finally arriving on Friday, November 22 as India are set to defend the prestigious silverware against arch-rivals Australia over the next couple of months. This is going to be the first time the two teams will face each other in a five-match Test series since their face-off in the 1991-92 season.
The first Test is set to be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth, beginning on Friday, November 22. Both teams will want to hit the ground running and take a crucial lead in the high-profile series. The cricket fraternity will also keep a close eye on the World Test Championship (WTC) points table during the series. Australia is leading the charts with 62.50 percentage points, while India find themselves at No. 2 with 58.33 percentage points.
The Asian giants are coming into this series on the back of a forgettable 0-3 whitewash at home against New Zealand. On turning tracks, the Kiwis gave the Indians a taste of their own medicine as the likes of Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner wreaked havoc. Apart from Rishabh Pant, no other Indian batter exuded self-confidence. Three of the most senior members of the side – Captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin had dismal outings as they were nowhere close to their full potential.
Kohli and Rohit averaged 15.50 and 15.17 in the series, while Ashwin picked up just nine wickets from six innings at 41.22. India will be without the services of Rohit in the first Test and Jasprit Bumrah will spearhead the team in his absence. The seasoned pacer will have a massive role to play as he could have an inexperienced Akash Deep and an out-of-form Mohammed Siraj for the company.
Kohli has an excellent record in Perth as he averages 64.25 with one century and one half-century from four innings. Indian fans will want him to forget his recent struggles and come out all guns blazing in the first Test. The youngsters on the side like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan will also have to step up as India look to bounce back from the New Zealand debacle. India need to beat Australia 4-0 to qualify for the WTC final on their own.
Australia will want to end their losing streak at home against India. They lost a series at home to India for the first time in 2018-19. The Baggy Greens suffered another series defeat to the Asian side in 2020-21. Pat Cummins will hope to inspire his side to emerge victorious against India and avenge the two previous series defeats.
Australia need five wins from their remaining seven games to reach the finals of the WTC without depending on other results. They will want to win as many games as they can at home against India because the subsequent two-match Test series in Sri Lanka could be tricky.
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After David Warner’s retirement earlier this year, Steve Smith went up to the top of the order but didn’t get much success. The former Australia captain will return to No. 4, where he has enjoyed surreal success. Young Nathan McSweeney is set to make his international debut and he will join Usman Khawaja at the top of the order. The rest of the batting order has a lot of experience and will want to exert a lot of pressure on the younger bowlers in the Indian side.
Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood will team up once again and hope to cause a lot of problems for the Indian batters. Nathan Lyon might not have a huge role to play in the first innings but he could be key in the second. Travis Head is already in the spotlight after his centuries in the WTC final and the ODI World Cup final last year against India. The tourists will want to see the back of him as early as possible because the southpaw can cause a lot of damage when he is at the crease.
Match Details
Australia vs India, First Test
Date & Time
November 22-26, 7:50 am IST
Venue
Optus Stadium, Perth
Live Broadcast and Streaming Details
Star Sports Network and JioStar (Disney+Hotstar)
Pitch Report
There is going to be sufficient greenery on the track to keep the pacers interested. Curator Isaac McDonald has also said that there could be variable bounce on offer. Batters will have to work hard in this Test match. There is a forecast for rain in the morning and this could make the surface damp. No team has won while batting second at the Optus Stadium. However, overcast conditions and a damp pitch might force the captain who wins the toss to bowl first.
Head-to-Head Record
107
Won by Australia
45
Won by India
32
Drawn / No Result
29
Tied
01
First-ever Fixture
November 28, 1947
Most-recent Fixture
June 7, 2023
Probable Playing XIs
Australia (AUS) :
Australia’s squad will have no real surprise picks in their playing XI unless there is some last-minute injury concerns. Nathan McSweeney will open the batting with Usman Khawaja and the rest of the players pick themselves. Scott Boland could play a role in the latter stages of the series to give rest to the likes of Starc and Hazlewood.
Predicted XI: Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
India (IND) :
India have some interesting calls to make. Firstly, there is a shootout between KL Rahul and Abhimanyu Easwaran for the opener’s slot. Devdutt Padikkal, who did well in the tour games against Australia A recently, has been added to the squad and could bat at No. 3. There is also a chance to see Easwaran and Rahul playing together, with the former opening the batting and the latter coming in at No. 3. On the bowling front, it will be interesting to see whether India backs the experienced but out-of-form Siraj or hands a debut to the exuberant Harshit Rana.
Predicted XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravichandran Ashwin, Harshit Rana/Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah.