If India has to make it to the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) for the second time in a row, then its batsmen will have to perform well in the fourth and final Test cricket match against Australia starting on Thursday.
India are currently leading 2-1 in the ongoing series and the equation is simple for them to make it to the WTC final. They need to win the series 3-1 so that they are not dependent on the result of Sri Lanka’s tour of New Zealand. The spinners have had a say in the series so far as the wickets have been designed to suit them. Motera, however, is likely to have favorable conditions for the batsmen as well. In such a situation, Virat Kohli and his fellow batsmen would not like to leave any stone unturned.
The Indian team is expected to get immense support from the spectators at the Narendra Modi Stadium. One lakh spectators are expected on the first day of the match as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present along with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to watch a cricket match at the stadium named after him for the first time. However, the onus will be on the likes of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara to keep the spirits up for the spectators, who will have to win matches on the 22-yard pitch.
Kohli has scored 111 runs in the series so far while Pujara has scored 98 runs. Both of them will have to stay here and play. Captain Rohit (207) has scored the most runs for India in the series. After him comes the number of Akshar Patel (185). This shows how difficult it has been for the batsmen to score runs in this series.
Facing the likes of Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnmann on a batting-friendly pitch means India are unlikely to get the kind of wicket where the ball starts turning in the first five minutes if they bat first . Kohli and Pujara understand very well that they have not been able to play big innings against a good bowling attack for a long time. If favorable conditions are found here, he will be eager to play big innings.
As far as team composition is concerned, there is bound to be one change in the Indian team. Mohammed Shami will be included in the playing XI where he will take charge of the new ball along with the experienced Umesh Yadav. Mohammed Siraj will be rested as he will also have a key role to play in the ODI series starting March 17 in Mumbai.
Due to the poor performance of the Indian batsmen, there is also talk of keeping an additional batsman in the team, but if the pitch is favorable for the batsmen, then five specialist bowlers will be needed to take 20 wickets. Akshar has impressed with his batting in the series but his left-arm spin bowling hasn’t been used much. He has played a lot of first-class matches at Motera and here he can again be effective with the bowling.
As far as the wicketkeeper is concerned, KS Bharat has not been up to the mark with the bat so far but head coach Rahul Dravid doesn’t seem to be in favor of any changes in the department. Ishan Kishan though practiced a lot before the match which has raised curiosity in this department as he is a better batsman than Bharat. Talking about Australia team, it has to be seen whether he can look at the wicket as Todd Murphy. Whether to drop an off-spinner and bring in an extra fast bowler (Scott Boland or Lance Morris) in the team.
With Australia having already booked a place in the final of the World Test Championship, Steve Smith’s team, captained by Pat Cummins on his return home, will aim to spoil India’s 10-year unbeaten record on home soil. . India have not lost a home series since 2012 against England.
Teams are as follows:
Australia: Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnman, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (c), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson.
India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akshar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav Jaydev Unadkat. The match will start at 9.30 am Indian time.
