After skipper Rohit Sharma’s arrival in Australia, India are all set to make changes in their playing XI for the second Test in Adelaide, which starts from December 6. The visitors are likely to include Rohit and Shubman Gill in their Playing XI, replacing Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel. However, it will be interesting to see whether India make any changes in their bowling line-up or not.
In the first Test, India picked Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana as three pacers. When it came to all-rounders’ slot, India opted to debut Nitish Reddy and selected Washington Sundar, leaving seasoned campaigners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on the sidelines.
Both Reddy and Sundar produced solid performances in the opening Test. Reddy scored a crucial 41 in the first innings, then followed it up with an aggressive 38 not out in the second. With the ball, he bowled 7 overs, claiming his maiden Test wicket. On the other hand, Sundar scored 29 in the second innings, and proved his worth with the ball, taking two key wickets.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who played a key role in India’s last two series win in Australia, feels that the Rohit Sharma-led side should continue with the same bowling attack for the Adelaide Test which means no inclusion of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Prasidh Krishna and others.
“There is no question about it. This bowling attack has given us success. [Jasprit] Bumrah looked really good. [Mohammed] Siraj was very good. And then it was supported by Harshit. He bowled really well, you have to accept that. He was playing his first game [for India], still he ended up pitching the ball up,” Pujara told ESPNcricinfo.
“In Australia, it’s very easy to get carried away and sometimes when you look at the pace of the pitch, it offers a bit more extra bounce… But he was still looking to hit the right spot, good length, try and hit the top of off, and he has that ability.
So I think we should carry on with the same bowling attack. And Nitish also, he had a bit of a bowl. I felt that those four seamers are proper options and along with that, Washington Sundar,” he added.
The 36-year-old Pujara admitted that Sundar was chosen more for his batting than his bowling, while adding that the left-arm off-spinner should be retained in India’s Playing XI for the second Test.
“He [Washington] didn’t look really good when he started his bowling, but eventually he got a couple of wickets, he varied his pace, so Washy should be our spinner. Because he can bat well. The reason he was chosen in this squad is because he can bat. It will be important in the second Test match that, in case we lose a few wickets early, if the lower-middle order needs to contribute, Washington can do that role,” Pujara said.
India are currently leading the five-match series 1-0 after thrashing Australia by 295 runs in the first Test in Perth. Before playing the pink ball-Test in Adelaide, they will play a two-day pink-ball warm-up game against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra.
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