Australia will square off against India in the second Test match at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, which will be a pink-ball affair from Friday onwards. Australia have won 11 out of the 12 pink-ball Tests they have played so far, with the loss coming against West Indies earlier in 2024. Ergo, the home team will look to continue their good show with the pink against an in-form Indian team.
We look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.
Current form of India: W L L L W
India was able to bag a much-needed win against Australia after series loss against New Zealand. The visitors were able to tick the right boxes in the series opener against the Aussies with Jasprit Bumrah leading from the front to bag match figures of 8-72.
Current form of Australia: L W W L W
Australia was stunned in the opening Test and they will look to make a solid comeback. The batting unit led to Australia’s downfall and they need to come up with a collective effort in the pink-ball Test. Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith will need to be at their best for the home team.
Head to Head: Matches: 108, Won by Australia: 45, Won by India: 33, Draw: 29.
Players to watch out for: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj, and Rishabh Pant will hold the key for India.
Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Starc, Travis Head, Steve Smith, and Marnus Labuschagne will be the crucial players for the hosts.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal.
Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
