The ’Gabba, for many, is the quintessential Australian Test venue. In several ways, it typifies the Aussie aggression.
The surfaces here are usually fast and bouncy, and cricket is often attacking. The ball will fly past the batsman’s nose. Exciting horizontal bat shots will be played. And the cordon behind the stumps will be busy.
India faces a challenge of technique and mind as it takes on Australia in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series here on Wednesday.
It remained bright and sunny here on Tuesday as the teams practiced. Rain and thundershowers, however, have been forecast during the Test. Will inclement weather impact the match?
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, back from a thumb injury, will return as India captain. His presence, apart from strengthening the middle-order, will be reassuring to the side.
And R. Ashwin is most likely to play; India missed an off-spinner who could exploit footmarks in the first Test.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja has been ruled out with a left shoulder impingement.
Australia will be without key paceman Ryan Harris, out with a strain in his quadriceps. Peter Siddle, who looked out of sorts in Adelaide, has been dropped.
Left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc and young fast bowler Josh Hazelwood will support Mitchell Johnson for the host.
Spearhead Johnson will be a handful on this track but as the contest wears on, in-form off-spinner Nathan Lyon may make good use of the bounce.
Although some of the grass on the surface has been chopped off, the bowlers should relish the hardness of the track.
Left-handed Shaun Marsh will replace injured captain Michael Clarke in the Aussie batting order. It will be big shoes for Shaun to fit into.
Shaun and his younger brother Mitchell will also be playing together for the first time in a Test; the last brothers to play for Australia in a Test were from the illustrious Waugh family.
It will be a proud moment too for Geoff Marsh, Shaun and Mitchell’s father, who was an accomplished Australian opener.
All eyes will be on Steve Smith as he captains Australia for the first time. Just 25, he is already rated high by the Australian selectors, both as a batsman and a leader of men.
Inserting the opposition will be a ploy worth considering for the team winning the toss. There should be plenty of encouragement for the pacemen on day one.
But then, the pitch here, although unlikely to turn much, could play a tad up and down in the last two days. Batting in the fourth innings might be hazardous. The captain ‘calling it right’ will need to weigh his options.
The question before India is whether to play five bowlers or not. For a team, down 1-0 in a four-match series, the second Test could be pivotal.
Dhoni will surely add muscle to the Indian batting. And Ashwin, given his equanimity and enterprise at the crease, will lend greater weight to the lower order that caved in at the Adelaide Oval.
It’s a scenario where Rohit Sharma, still seeking to establish himself as a Test cricketer, could find his place in jeopardy.
The other option for India is to open with Ashwin instead of Shikhar Dhawan — he has been opened up by the short-pitched deliveries — and create another slot in the team for a bowler.
In that case, India could strengthen its pace attack with the inclusion of Umesh Yadav; his lively swing could trouble the Aussie batsmen. Or even include an additional spinner in Karn Sharma; for all his travails in the first Test, the leg-spinner might find ‘Gabba’s extra bounce to his liking.
While Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay are in form, India will be seeking an all-round batting performance. This was not the case in its second innings at Adelaide.
Shaun Marsh, whose footwork and range of strokes are impressive, would be eager to pull his weight. But then, the Indian bowlers would be looking for chinks in an Australian line-up sans Clarke.
The teams:
India: M.S. Dhoni (captain), M. Vijay, S. Dhawan, C. Pujara, V. Kohli, A. Rahane, Rohit Sharma, R. Ashwin, V. Aaron, Ishant Sharma, U. Yadav, M. Shami, S. Raina, Karn Sharma, W. Saha, L. Rahul and D. Kulkarni.
Australia: S. Smith (captain), C. Rogers, D. Warner, S. Watson, S. Marsh, M. Marsh, B. Haddin, M. Johnson, M. Starc, J. Hazelwood and N. Lyon.
Match starts at 5.30 a.m. IST.
