Australia announced their playing XI a day ahead of the second Test against India, beginning from Friday in Perth. The hosts have decided to stick with the same team which lost a nail-biter series opener in Adelaide by 31-runs on Monday.
Australian skipper Tim Paine confirmed that Aaron Finch will stick to his position at the opening slot along with Marcus Harris. This new opening pair couldn’t produce well in the previous game. Especially, Finch who had a horrible outing in Adelaide, scoring 0 and 11 in two innings.
On the other hand, debutant Marcus Harris was a bit better but yet needs to back himself. He scored 26 in both the Australian innings.
Australia have decided to deploy 4 bowlers into the clash at Optus Stadium, with selectors resisting the temptation to bring in Mitchell Marsh as an extra bowling cover. This pack of 4 – Mithcell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon – not only took 20 wickets against India but also batted superbly during the 323-run chase in the first Test.
The team announcement came shortly after India suffered a huge blow when spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and batsman Rohit Sharma were ruled out.
Australia Playing XI:
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)