IND vs AUS 2nd Test: Kohli & Co 'more excited than nervous' about Perth pitch

The visitors have already announced a 13-man squad for the 2nd Test which is indeed pacer-rich. Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar – all of them are in but it has to be seen what combination the captain prefers to go with.

After scripting history in Adelaide, India arrive at Perth for the 2^nd Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which begins on Friday morning. The visitors had a gala time during their previous outing against the Aussies, getting home-like support from the Adelaide track. But the things won’t be similar when both sides take the field in Perth.

The new multi-purpose stadium possesses a fiery green track which is expected to resemble the WACA surfaces. Such tracks have always been haunting the Indians (which was pretty visible during the England tour), however, that mentality seems to be changing with time.

Ahead of the next game, Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s statement clearly depicts the team’s state of mind. He said, “We certainly get more excited than nervous looking at lively pitches now.”

Virat Kohli holds no fears over the Perth Stadium pitch for the second #AUSvIND Test... pic.twitter.com/gvxruTtcF3

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 13, 2018

It could be Kohli’s happy heart after the first victory that he showed utter confidence on the team despite losing his principal spinner R Ashwin and batsman Rohit Sharma due to injury.

“We understand that we do have a bowling attack which can bowl the opposition out as much as they are convinced about their attack. When you have four or five fast bowlers who are at the peak of their ability, it's always a great feeling to have in the side,” he added.

The visitors have already announced a 13-man squad for the 2^nd Test which is indeed pacer-rich. Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar – all of them are in but it has to be seen what combination the captain prefers to go with.

An exciting contest awaits at Perth with a lot on offer for the quicks 🔥🔥 #TeamIndia #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/k3Y7CQ8DQF

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 13, 2018

Kohli could be the happiest man alive at the moment. And why not, he has the one of the best bowling brigades. A happy skipper wasn’t shy praising the quicka and said, “I am lucky that when they are at their peak I am the captain.”

“If you don't get 20 wickets you don't win a Test match, regardless of whether you scored 600 or 700 or 800. It is insignificant. If you get 300 on the board and you have guys who can get 20 wickets then you are fine as a team. The way they have bowled in the last three tours, it is amazing. They are hungry for wickets and are not giving easy runs. I am sure it is very exciting for those who are watching us play,” he added.

Despite having a lethal bowling arsenal, a decent beginning from the top-order batsmen still remains Kohli’s concern. He stressed on the fact that they have to ‘bat well’ to end well.

“For us, as batsmen, it also gives us a lot of motivation and boosts us up that we can put in those match-winning significant batting performances because we have so much belief in our bowling unit right now. We understand that if we bat well, we will definitely get the result that we want,” the Indian skipper said.

Squad:

India (13-players): Virat Kohli (capt), KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.

Other squad players: Parthiv Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma.

Australia (expected eleven): Tim Paine (capt & wk), Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood.

Other squad players: Mitchell Marsh, Peter Siddle.