IND vs AUS 2022-23, 3rd Test: India eager to seal WTC Final berth, Australia seeks redemption
IND vs AUS 2022-23: India and Australia lock horns in the third Indore Test for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Wednesday. While the hosts are desperate to seal their place in the ICC World Test Championship Final, Australia will be eyeing redemption.
FollowIndia is expected to enhance its aura of invincibility at home with another series win. At the same time, a down-and-out Australia will need nothing less than a monumental effort to bounce back in the third Test, beginning at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Wednesday. India has already secured the Border-Gavaskar trophy. It will now play for a record-extending 16th straight series win at home and a guaranteed spot in June's 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship Final.
Leading 2-0 in a four-match series, India is sitting pretty and needs to make one tough decision of choosing between out-of-form KL Rahul and Shubman Gill. Rahul is no more the vice-captain of the side, but the team management has shown tremendous faith in him, and he might get another opportunity to get back among the runs.
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The only hundred of the series, which spinners have dominated, has come from the bat of Rohit Sharma. If India gets to bat on day one, the conditions will be ideal for Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli to pile on the runs. The trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel has not just delivered with the ball. It has also scored the bulk of the runs so far in the series. Since they can't be expected to get runs in the lower order regularly, the onus lies on the top order.
Contrary to Australia's inexplicable sweeping tactics, Indian batters have adopted the conventional approach against the impressive Australian spinners. Rohit has been brilliant with his foot movement, Kohli has also looked assured in the middle, and an unbeaten 31 from Cheteshwar Pujara in his 100th Test must have made him more confident going into the third Test.
The square at the Holkar Stadium houses pitches with both black and red soil. The curators have decided to go with the black ground, which usually doesn't offer as much turn and bounce as red soil tracks. The battered and bruised opponent, Australia, has had much time to reflect on its defeats in Nagpur and Delhi. The debacle in Delhi, where it effectively lost the game in a session, should hurt more.
Regarding its squad composition, a lot has changed with Pat Cummins back in Australia to be with his ailing mother. Ashton Agar, Josh Hazlewood and David Warner, too, are back home. Steven Smith will lead the side. The visitors could not be faulted for their effort to stage a comeback in the series.
They seem ready to shun the inexplicable sweeping tactics they employed in Delhi and are expected to take a more conventional approach to counter the rampaging of Ashwin and Jadeja. Such has been their domination that Patel has only got to bowl 26 overs. How the Australians defend against the spinners will be critical to their chances here. Runs are always vital, but their batters need to bat long. It has to be a mix of caution and aggression, as the over-attacking style of play is likely counter-productive.
Travis Head is expected to open alongside Usman Khawaja. Khawaja struck a well-made 81 in Delhi, and Head briefly put pressure on the spinners with his aggressive play. Trust Head to continue in the same fashion, while Khawaja will be expected to play the waiting game. The fulcrum of its batting, Smith and Labuschagne, average less than 30 so far in the series and without their runs, an Australia fightback will be highly unlikely. All-rounder Cameron Green is fit again alongside Mitchell Starc, and both are expected to start on Wednesday. Australia will likely continue with three specialist spinners in Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann.
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Squads
Australia: Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (c), Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Swepson.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (wk), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav and Jaydev Unadkat.
Where to watch
Date and day: March 1-5, 2023 (Wednesday-Sunday)
Venue: Holkar Stadium, Indore
Time: 9.30 AM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1 and other Star Sports regional language channels - Also available in HD
Where to watch (Online): Hotstar
(With inputs from PTI)
