India reveals its lineup for the Adelaide Test
Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, and Prithvi Shaw will represent India in the Adelaide Test. Umesh Yadav will be the third fast bowler. These were the main questions India contemplated two days before the Test: whether to continue supporting the energetic Shaw, whether to play with a spinner and persist with the safer option of Ashwin, and which of the wicketkeepers to field. On the eve of the day-night Test, they cleared up all the confusion by naming the eleven players. Shaw had been under pressure, with Shubman Gill getting better results in the two tour matches. However, Shaw was the starting opening batsman and proved in a four-inning in New Zealand that he can be destructive. He scored 0, 19, 40 and 3 in the two games of the tour, but more than the scores, it was his weak shots that worried.
As reasonable as it is to play Ashwin, it could have been argued this time to not play a spinner at all in the opening match of the series because, in day-night Tests in Australia, spinners have averaged 49 despite Lyon’s superlative average of 25 in these matches.
In the case of the wicketkeeper, however, India left out the regular Pant. Yadav was the favorite to be India’s third fast bowler, replacing the injured Ishant Sharma. Not only does he have experience in Test, but he also impressed in the only warm-up match he played, taking 3 for 48 and 1 for 14 and also scoring useful runs.India XI: 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt.), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Hanuma Vihari, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
