Dhruv Jurel and Abhimanyu Easwaran speakduring an India Men's Test Squad training session at The Gabba (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
India and Australia will lock horns at The Gabba in Brisbane in what is anticipated to be a massive third Test between the two top-ranked teams in the world. While India decimated Australia by 295 runs at Perth, the hosts came back strongly, thrashing the visitors by 10 wickets in the Pink Ball Test at the Adelaide Oval.
India has happy memories of The Gabba – the last time they played at the venue, they recorded a historic series victory with Rishabh Pant hammering an unbeaten 89 to help India gun down the target of 328 on the final day of the Test. It meant India had become the first team after West Indies and South Africa to register two consecutive Test series wins Down Under.
But there are some pressing questions India needs to answer if they are to replicate what transpired in 2021. RG explores.
Should Rohit Sharma move back to open the innings?
Rohit Sharma is in woeful form with the bat. He has scored just 597 runs in 23 Test innings this year at a paltry average of 27.13. Rohit’s numbers in the last six Tests are even more dismal with an aggregate of 142 runs at an average of 11.83 with just one fifty-plus score!
The skipper missed the series opener in Perth for personal reasons. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal put together a record 201-run stand in the second innings, and thus, when Rohit came back into the XI in Adelaide, he pushed himself to the middle order. That did not pay dividends precisely as he was dismissed for a timid 3 and 6 in the two innings against the Pink Ball – Rohit looked tentative and entirely at sea during his short and uncomfortable stay at the crease.
There are suggestions that he would return to the top of the order – a position which transformed his career since 2019. Rohit, the opener, may like the ball coming onto the bat and may even take the attack on the Australian bowlers, unleashing India’s version of Bazball, as he showcased against Bangladesh in Kanpur. Taking calculated risks against Australia’s pace trio at the top of the order may be the best way for an out-of-form Rohit to find his groove again.
Akash Deep in for Rana?
Harshit Rana was impressive at Perth, bowling with pace and hitting the right lengths. He got three wickets in the first innings including the big scalp of Travis Head with a peach of a delivery that took the left-hander’s off-stump. However, the lanky seamer seemed to have lost a bit of steam with the Pink Ball and was hammered for 86 runs in 16 overs without picking a wicket in the first innings at Adelaide. Rana was either too short or too full and bowled a number of deliveries down the leg side, which were easy pickings for the Australian batters.
Akash Deep had a fine start to his Test career and left a mark on his debut against England at Ranchi earlier this year. He saw the back of the top 3 English batters and consistently bowled on or just outside the corridor of uncertainty. His discipline and ability to move the ball either way make him a dangerous new ball bowler, especially in Brisbane, where there will be help for the fast bowlers at this time of the year.
Ashwin as the lone spinner?
R Ashwin did not bag a heap of wickets in Adelaide but was still impressive in the first innings where he saw the back of Mitchell Marsh and was also very restrictive even as the Indian pacers (except for Jasprit Bumrah) went for aplenty. The off-spinner was unlucky as he should have got Travis Head when the latter was on 76, but Mohammed Siraj dropped the catch. Had Siraj held on, it might have been a different story altogether in Adelaide.
Ashwin has a great record against left-handers and has troubled Head, Usman Khawaja and Alex Carey in the past. He has dismissed Head three times in 12 innings, Carey – five times in seven innings and Khawaja – four times in eight innings.
Stats that matter
- Australia has lost two of their last four Tests at The Gabba – against India in 2021 and West Indies 2024. Interestingly, both those matches were in the second half of January. Australia defeated England and South Africa in 2021 and 2022 at the venue when the matches were held in December.
- Pat Cummins has an excellent record in Brisbane with 40 dismissals in 7 matches at an average of 18.22 and strike rate of 38.9.
- The Gabba has the best bowling average (24.06) and bowling strike rate (43.7) for pacers amongst the five major Test playing grounds in Australia since 2021.
Nikhil Narain is a die-hard cricket romantic, published author, and has worked for some of the leading digital websites and broadcasters in India and overseas. An alumnus of the London School of Economics, Nikhil's forte is using data and numbers creatively to weave interesting stories and revolutionize the way cricket statistics are generated and analyzed.
