Australia vs India 2014-15 - 1st Test: Can India get off to a good start at the Adelaide Oval?

Will Virat Kohli and co. be able to fight fire with fire?

Team India left for Australia on the 22nd of November, looking to bulldoze what has now become a perennial indictment against the Men In Blue, who simply have looked inept to win an overseas Test series for over 7 years now, having last won 1-0 in the 4-match Test series against England in England, under Rahul Dravid.

Phillip Joel Hughes’s passing away, after being hit by a bouncer while batting on 63 for South Australia in a Sheffield Shield match, has in a way scarred what has become one of the most engrossing cricket rivalries in the world over the last decade-and-a-half.

Michael Clarke and David Warner — two key personnel in Australia’s XI for tomorrow’s first Test — have shed more tears in the last week than they would have done in their entire lives, making the dawn of the first Test, which has been shifted from Brisbane to Adelaide owing to Hughes’ tragic death, all the more emotional and unenviable.

On the flip side of the coin, it would be an examination of Australia’s swagger and fortitude, as much as their supreme cricketing skills, when they stride out to the pitch on Tuesday morning, be it with the bat or the ball. Here’s an in-depth preview of that all-important first Test of the 4-match Test series between Australia and India for the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

Australia

I can’t help but think that the tale of this Test match is going to be about the hosts getting their minds sorted out, playing the way we know they usually do, if they are to make a good start to the Test series with a win at the Adelaide Oval.

Albeit it would be ludicrous to not expect the likes of Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris to test the Indian batsmen with chin music, taking into account the state of mind they must be in after Hughes’ passing away, this facet of the game could be a major talking point in how this Test match pans out. Bowling is Australia’s strength, and although they bat deep and possess as many stroke makers in their arsenal as their opponents do, the first Test match being held in Adelaide, where the pitches have usually been benign and unthreatening as compared to the other pitches in Australia, might just suit the Indians to feel their way into this Test and the series.

Australia are coming into this home Test series against India, after being blown away by Pakistan in a 2-match Test series in the UAE. The Kangaroos managed to score over 300 only once in that 2-match Test series against Pakistan and, barring Warner and Steve Smith, the rest of the Australian batsmen are struggling for runs and confidence. Playing at home, you expect Australia to come good with the bat but it might not be all that intimidating for the Indians, who need their bowlers to fire, to even put up a good fight in this important Test series.

India

India have played a couple of tour games against CA XI and the CA Invitational XI since arriving in Australia and, if the inferences from those two 2-day games are anything to go by, they would be pleased with what they managed to achieve, both from the batsmen and bowlers’ perspective. Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara have been amongst the runs, while the quartet of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (who is set to be ruled out of the first two Test matches), Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron have been amongst the wickets and garnered serious practice prior to that first Test.

Of the two sides, India would feel better prepared ahead of tomorrow’s first Test starting in Adelaide, and Kohli-led India would fancy their chances against a mentally beleaguered Australian side. Having said that, India just can’t seem to come up with the goods in overseas conditions, which bring their shortcomings into light, time and again. After making a brilliant start in England earlier this year, when India went 1-0 up after the first two Tests and were playing pristine cricket, Dhoni’s devils found a way to lose it 3-1 at the end of the 5-match Test series, proving their fallibility and ineptitude in foreign conditions. From that point of view, India, too, have their own mental battle to overcome.

Team news

Australia, like they always do, have announced their playing XI a day ahead of the Test match. On paper, it looks a very strong side, which will of course, rely on Johnson and Harris’s pace bowling upfront, to push India onto the back foot in the Test match. Australia would want to make a statement with their bowling, and by doing so, get a stranglehold of the game.

Australia XI: Michael Clarke (C), Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris and Nathan Lyon.

Team India, again, like they usually do, haven’t revealed their playing XI, which we will come to know only tomorrow. The assuring news, though, is that Kohli will lead the Indian side, with Dhoni needing more time to recover (which is more of a false announcement, as the team management must have decided to have Kohli leading the side as planned).

Bhuvneshwar’s absence means India would rely heavily on Ishant Sharma to lead the pace attack and guide Shami and Aaron — who are on their first respective tours down under. The rest of the XI should pick itself, albeit it would be intriguing to see whether the offensive-minded Kohli goes in with four fast bowlers, sticking to his philosophy of fighting fire with fire and hitting Australia with pace and bounce.

India probable XI: Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron.

Pitch and conditions

The pitch is devoid of grass, a day prior to the Test match. However, it would be aberrational to conceive it as a marble top, as the surface looks rock hard underneath, providing a huge incentive to the bowlers who bend their backs.

Over the years, Adelaide has been a high-scoring ground, making the toss a crucial factor in determining how the Test match pans out. The captain who wins the toss, would be a lunatic to not bat first for the kind of surface on offer.

India’s key opponent

Mitchell Johnson, going by all the pre-series buildup, is talked up to hunt down the Indian batsmen mercilessly. However, I am of the opinion that David Warner, who opens the batting, could prove to be a thorn in India’s flesh. The diminutive New South Wales southpaw is an aggressive, hard-hitting left-hander who made merry the last time India toured down under and, for the kind of form he is in, don’t be surprised if he goes after the Indian new ball bowlers, giving Kohli plenty of problems when India come on to bowl.

Emotional Test set to commence

It will be an emotional and eccentric start to this Test series, which begins at the Adelaide Oval tomorrow. Make no mistake, though, that Australia might not be at their vintage best, as one needs to think of the motivation Hughes’s death might provide Australia with, making them a formidable force for the Indians to overcome.

India, on the other hand, cannot go on losing overseas Test series. But if they are to win their first Test series in Australia, Indian batsmen will have to stand up, put 350 runs on the board every time they go out to bat, thereby giving their bowlers the kind of total to work with and pose tough questions for the Australians. The presumption, though, is that India might relish starting their tour of Australia at the Adelaide Oval, where if they perform well and take the lead in the series, could be used as a launchpad to build momentum ahead of the Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney Tests.