Team India will head to Gabba once again with the series level at 1-1 just like it was back in 2021 before the historic win in Brisbane. Only this time around Gabba will be the third Test instead of the 4th one in the series and there are still three more games remaining in this five-match series for the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT).
Rohit Sharma’s side were off to a flying start in the series, hammering the World Test champions by 295 runs in the opening game at the Optus Stadium in Perth. However, Pat Cummins-led side bounced back to win the ‘Pink Ball’ Test at the Adelaide Oval last week by 10 wickets.
One of the biggest areas of concern for the Indian side was the lack of penetration from the third seamer Harshit Rana. The youngster, who made his Test debut at Perth, looked quite listless as Travis Head tore into him. With the short turnaround time between Adelaide and Brisbane, Harshit Rana is set to be sidelined with the experienced Bengal seamer Akash Deep returning to the side.
Many felt that Team India missed a trick by not playing Akash Deep in Adelaide, where the conditions helped the seamers a lot. In 36 first-class matches, the 27-year-old Bengal pacer has taken 123 wickets at an excellent average of 22.98.
Apart from this all-rounder Washington Sundar is also set to replace Ravichandran Ashwin, who looked less than impressive in Adelaide. Sundar has picked up wickets ever since he came into the Indian playing 11 since the second Test against New Zealand in Pune.
He will also have happy memories of playing at the Gabba in 2021, as he scored a memorable and match-winning half-century in the first innings of that game.
Australia, on the other hand, are set to make an obvious change with Josh Hazlewood regaining his fitness. Hazlewood will replace Scott Boland which will be the only change in their victorious playing 11.
AKASH DEEP & SUNDAR FOR 3RD TEST AT GABBA (Express Sports).
– Akash Deep is likely to replace Harshit Rana vs Australia.
– Washington Sundar might replace Ravi Ashwin vs Australia. pic.twitter.com/ZBaSgcXNXX
— Tanuj Singh (@ImTanujSingh) December 13, 2024
India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Australia: Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
