Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the 2nd India vs Australia Test match at Optus Stadium in Perth. A fiery green pitch has welcomed both the teams for a crucial game of the 2-match series which is currently being led by India. The visitors will definitely look to maintain the momentum with which they conquered Adelaide and make it 2-0.
India though have been hit by injuries to key players R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma who are ruled out of the Test. In their absence, pacer Umesh Yadav, all-rounders Hanuma Vihari and Ravindra Jadeja have been included in the 13-man squad.
In the batting department, with Rohit out injured, Vihari is likely to play his second Test after his maiden appearance at the Oval, where he scored 56 runs in the fifth Test against England.
Australia were expected to make a few tactical changes to their batting line-up after Aaron Finch’s under fire performance. However, skipper Tim Paine has decided to give his previous playing XI another shot. Australia will field the same team that lost in Adelaide. The same bowling line-up will be fielded against the Indians. Hence, all-rounder Mitchell Marsh yet again misses making an outing against India.
Squads:
India (13-man squad):
Virat Kohli (captain), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav
Australia:
Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Tim Paine (c, wk), Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood (vc)