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 will complete the trio of fast bowlers. The main questions India faced before the Test were: whether to maintain confidence in Shaw, whether to play with a bowler and persist with Ashwin, and which of the wicketkeepers would be chosen. The eve of the day-night Test cleared up all doubts when the starting eleven was announced. Shaw, who had been under pressure, given Shubman Gill’s better performance in the two practice matches. However, Shaw, the opening batsman, showed in one of the four innings in New Zealand that he can be destructive. He scored 0, 19, 40 and 3 in the two practice matches, but it was his imprecise shots that worried. It is understood that, with an established average order, India sought continuity at the top and chose to keep the incumbent.
While it’s reasonable to play Ashwin, this time it could have been argued not to play a spinner in the first match of the series because in day-night Tests in Australia, seamers have averaged 49 despite Lyon’s superlative average of 25 in these matches.
As for the wicketkeeper, India left out the regular Pant, who has been preferred over Saha in Tests outside of Asia, where most of the wicketkeeping work is done from behind. It is in India where the team management believes Saha’s superior wicketkeeping skills come into play when standing up to the bowlers. 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 (c), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Hanuma Vihari, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
