On social media, a picture of the Perth pitch for Australia’s first Test match against India in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25 (BGT) has been doing the rounds. Before the first game, the hosts are notably watering the green wicket they have created. The pitch at Perth’s Optus Stadium has historically benefited seamers, and as the widely shared image indicates, this tendency is probably going to continue.
Notably, the players should feel more confident because India has a perfect record at Optus. Although it is concerning that the batting unit has not performed up to par recently, the visitors have enjoyed some successful practice sessions at the WACA Ground nets. However, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul both suffered injuries during match simulations; as a result, Gill is reportedly unable to play in the upcoming Test. Since his second child was born earlier this week, captain Rohit Sharma is also anticipated to miss.
Conversely, with the help anticipated to be available, both sets of bowling units will relish taking a swing at the batsmen in Perth. The pressure is primarily on Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian camp, but Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood would all like to put up a strong performance. Although Mohammed Siraj will be his partner, the pacer isn’t playing well right now. In the meantime, Harshit Rana or Prasidh Krishna are anticipated to be India’s third pacer.
The visitors are also thinking about using Nitish Kumar Reddy as an additional seamer given the circumstances. Under such circumstances, the all-rounder will bat at number eight, taking the place of either Ravindra Jadeja or Ravichandran Ashwin. Reddy has participated in 23 first-class matches thus far, amassing 779 runs and claiming 56 wickets.
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But India’s batting lineup, which hasn’t performed well in the last home series against New Zealand, will continue to be the key emphasis. The game’s outcome will be determined by their batting performance, and the Perth surface won’t be kind either.
India
