India won the toss and decided to bat in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia on Friday (November 22) at Perth. Both teams announced debuts in their ranks with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana getting the nod for India and Nathan McSweeney for hosts Australia.
LIVE: India vs Australia 1st Test Day 1
India enter the first Test of the five-match series with four seamers and a spinner in the form of Washington Sundar. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have both been benched after mediocre returns during the home series against New Zealand. Sundar, an off-spinner, did an exceptional job there as he took 16 wickets in two Tests, including a 10-wicket haul in Pune.
As expected, KL Rahul will open the innings for India alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal after Rohit Sharma decided to stay home following the birth of his son. Devdutt Padikkal, who was introduced into the squad as a result of Rohit’s absence, will make an appearance at No. 3 with Shubman Gill injured with a fractured thumb. Karanataka’s Padikkal impressed many with 88 runs against Australia A in Mackay.
Over in the hosts’ camp, McSweeney was expected to make his Test debut and was handed the Baggy Green by former cricketer and coach Darren Lehmann.
“We are going to bat first, looks like a good wicket. Very confident with our preparation. We played a Test match here in 2018 so we know what to expect. The wicket gets quicker. Nitish makes his debut. We have 4 quicks and Washi (Sundar) is the lone spinner,” said stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah at the toss.
Australia captain Pat Cummins said, “We were 50-50, either way we are pretty happy. Feel well placed, pretty fresh. Any format we (India-Australia) play seems fiercely fought. Nathan McSweeney makes our debut at the top of the order.”
Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
India XI: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah(c), Mohammed Siraj