Australia and India will square-off in the third Test match of the on-going series on 14th November at Gabba.
Match Preview:
The ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy is evenly poised with both Australia and India showcasing moments of brilliance and vulnerability. Now, both of the teams will be preparing for another challenge at Gabba. Both of the teams will try their best to win the upcoming game to take the edge in the series.
While both of the teams have great batters in their lineups the bowling performances in this series have been on fleek so far. Harsith Rana’s bowling performance in Perth, Pat Cummins’ bowling against Rohit Sharma in Adelaide, and Jasprit Bumrah’s lighting up the stage in both of the Test games thus far.
Australia needs to perform with the bat, especially the likes of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne will have to step up. Smith particularly has failed to put up a show as he has scored just 19 runs in his last two tests and no centuries in his last 24 innings.
Australia will be hoping that Smith rediscovers his form if the side qualifies for the final of the World Test Championship, Smith has to be at his best.
India would look to resolve the same problems as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have not performed decently off late. While Kohli has one century against his name in this series still he needs to put up a show in every game.
Playing XI:
India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Rohit Sharma (capt)/ KL Rahul, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 KL Rahul/Rohit Sharma (capt), 7 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 8 Washington Sundar/R Ashwin, 9 Akash Deep, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Australia: 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Nathan McSweeney, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Pitch and weather report:
The Gabba, once a fortress for Australia, has seen cracks in recent years, with two losses in their last four Tests after going undefeated for 32 years. Both defeats came in January at the tail end of the season.
Nevertheless, the pitch can assist pacers. The Test in December 2022 ended in two days while the December 2021 game vs England saw Australia win the game by nine wickets. With rain in the forecast during this Test, conditions are likely to be even more favorable for the pacers.
Head-to-head record:
India and Australia have faced each other in 104 Test matches. India have won 34, while Australia have emerged victorious on 44 occasions.
Prediction:
With Australia’s unexpected win in Indore last year and India’s surprise triumph in Perth two weeks ago, anything can be expected. But it is expected that Australia will continue their winning streak as they will love to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship final next year.
Where to Watch:
UK: TNT, Discovery+
Australia: Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports, Channel 7, and 7Plus
US: Willow TV
India: Star Sports
South Africa: Super Sports
New Zealand: Sky NZ
Caribbean: SportsMax
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan: JioStar
Pakistan: Tapmad
MENA: Cricbuzz