New Delhi: India chose to bat first in the opening Test against Australia at Perth’s Optus Stadium, making several bold selection decisions. Both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were left out of the XI, with Washington Sundar preferred as the lone spinner, likely due to his batting strength and effectiveness against left-handers in the Australian lineup. Test debuts were handed to Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy, while Devdutt Padikkal replaced the injured Shubman Gill at the top of the order. For the No. 6 spot, India opted for Dhruv Jurel over Sarfaraz Khan, valuing his technical solidity and recent form, including twin fifties in the practice match against Australia A.
This Test is crucial for India’s hopes of securing a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The series loss to New Zealand dealt a significant blow to their chances, and India now faces the daunting task of winning this series 4-0 to ensure qualification. A defeat in this match would leave India reliant on the outcomes of other teams’ matches to keep their WTC final aspirations alive.
Captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and chose to bat, citing the pitch’s tendency to quicken as the game progresses. Explaining his decision, Bumrah said, “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 is the lone spinner.”
India (Playing 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
