India reveals its lineup for the Adelaide Test
Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, and Prithvi Shaw were selected to represent India in the Adelaide Test. Umesh Yadav completes the trio of fast bowlers. The main questions India was asking itself two days before the Test were: whether to continue supporting the energetic Shaw, whether to play with a bowler and persist with the safer option of Ashwin, and which of the wicketkeepers should play. On the eve of the day-night Test, they cleared up the confusion by naming the XI. Shaw was under pressure, with Shubman Gill performing better in the two tour matches, impressing legends. However, Shaw, as a regular opener, demonstrated in a four-run innings in New Zealand that he can be destructive. His scores were 0, 19, 40, and 3 in the two tour matches, but it was his loose shots that were concerning.
While it’s reasonable to play Ashwin, this time it could have been argued not to play a spinner in the opening match of the series because in day-night Tests in Australia, spinners have averaged 49 despite Lyon’s superior average of 25 in these matches.
In the case of the wicketkeeper, India left out Pant, who has been preferred over Saha in Tests outside of Asia, where most of the wicketkeeping is done standing up. It is in India where the team management believes that Saha’s superior wicketkeeping skills come into play when facing the spinners. Yadav was the favorite to be India’s third bowler, replacing the injured Ishant Sharma. Not only does he have Test experience, but he also impressed in the only practice match he played.India’s Line-up: 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (captain), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Hanuma Vihari, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
