IND vs AUS: Australia Playing 11 For India, 1st Test, 2023. Australia are gearing up to face India in an away Test series. Both teams will face each other in the first Test in Nagpur starting on February 9. The Aussies are topping the WTC points table with 124 points followed by India with 99.
Australia lost the previous Test series they played in India in 2017 by a 2-1 margin. They lost the next two Test series in Australia against India by 2-1 margins as well in Australia. This Border-Gavaskar series concludes the WTC 2021-23 cycle.
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The side has a few injury concerns heading into the first Test. Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc are both ruled out due to injury concerns. There are also doubts over Cameron Green’s participation in the Test match as broke his right index finger during the Boxing Day Test against South Africa last December.
The Aussies are planning to go with three spinners with Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar, and Mitchell Swepson. If that is indeed the case one between Lance Morris or Scott Boland with pair up with skipper Pat Cummins as the second pacer in the lineup.
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The focus also will be on the Nagpur pitch after the pitches in Ranchi and Lucknow were criticized for being unfair pitches for a T20I game. Meanwhile, in this article, we take a look at Australia’s likely playing XI for the first game.
IND vs AUS: Australia Playing 11 For India, 1st Test, 2023
David Warner
David Warner will open the batting for Australia. He is fresh off a double hundred in the second Test against South Africa. Against India, he scored 1148 in 18 Test matches with two centuries. He has to have a good series with the bat to help the Aussies win the series.
Usman Khawaja
Khawaja will open the batting along with Warner. He scored over 1000 runs in Tests in 2022 with nearly 500 runs in the series against Pakistan. Against India, the southpaw has played just four matches and scored 198 runs. Khawaja is another key batter for the visitors in the series.
Steve Smith
Steve Smith will slot in at three. He is the vice-captain of the side and has a terrific record against India in Test matches. He scored 876 runs in Tests in 2022. Smith top-scored in the 2017 series with 499 runs.
Marnus Labuschagne
Marnus will slot in at four. Along with Smith, he has been Australia’s most consistent run-getter in Test matches in the last couple of years. Labuschagne scored 957 runs in 11 Tests in 2022. The right-hander has already scored 464 runs in just five Tests against India.
Travis Head
Head will slot in at five. In the last couple of years, Head has been a regular in the Test side. The southpaw scored runs in the Test series against West Indies and South Africa and is a good option at number five. He can also chip in with a few overs with the ball.
Alex Carey (WK)
Carey is the special keeper batsman slotted at number six. He plays the spinners well and is the fourth left-hander in Australia’s top seven. The southpaw scored 536 runs in 11 Tests in 2022. The southpaw made his Test debut in 2021.
Ashton Agar
Agar will slot in at seven in the lineup. He is a handy batsman lower down the order and the second specialist spinner on the side. Agar is a left-arm spinner and will partner with Nathan Lyon’s right-arm off-spin. He made his Test debut in 2013 and played a couple of Test matches. He played a couple in 2017 and now again has been picked for this series.
Pat Cummins (C)
Cummins will bat at number eight and lead the pace attack. He will need to do a lot of bowling in the absence of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. He will be up against the likes of Pujara and Kohli. The pacer picked up 36 wickets in 10 Test matches in 2022.
Scott Boland
Boland might play as the second seamer if Australia decided to play with three spinners in the first Test. Boland has played six Tests so far all of them in Australia. This will be his first Test outside his home country. The pacer picked up 21 wickets in five Tests in 2022. He picked up a six-fer on his Test debut against England in 2021.
Lance Morris / Todd Murphy
Oe between Murphy or Morris will play in the first Test. Morris is right-arm medium fast while Murphy is right-arm off-spin. Both are yet to make their debut in Test cricket.
Mitchell Swepson
Swepson will be the second spinner in the XI. The leggie made his Test debut in 2022 picking up 10 wickets in four Test matches. The leggie will be a good option alongside two off-spinners in Lyon and Agar.
Nathan Lyon
Lyon will complete the XI as he leads the spin attack. The veteran of 115 Test matches picked up 47 wickets in 11 Tests in 2022. The offie has picked up 94 wickets in 22 Test matches against India and has a chance to get to 100 wickets against the Indians.
Also Read: IND VS AUS: INDIA PLAYING 11 FOR AUSTRALIA, 1ST TEST, 2023
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