With the series victory in sight, Team India will cross swords in the fourth Test match against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, starting March 09. For India, the game holds extreme value for two big reasons - first, a victory in the Border-Gavaskar series, and secondly, a win will all but guarantee their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The hosts would be under pressure after losing the third Test in Indore.
Rohit Sharma and the Indian Team management would look to put their best foot forward in order to secure bragging rights over a rejuvenated Australian side.
For the crunch game, India are likely to ring in one change to the playing XI that featured in the Indore Test. Mohammed Siraj, who has had a limited workload with pitches being on the slower side and suitable for spinners, will most likely make way for veteran pacer Mohammed Shami.
Umesh Yadav bowled brilliantly and got the ball to reverse in Indore Test. Shami is probably the best exponent of reverse swing in India. Thus, Umesh and Shami are likely to be India's two pacers for the Ahmedabad Test.
In batting, the Team management would stick with Shubman Gill even though the young right-handed batter failed to make an impression in Indore. But on the basis of his current form, he will force KL Rahul to remain on the bench.
For Australia, Pat Cummins was ruled out of the fourth Test and Steve Smith will once again lead the side. The Baggy Greens will stick with the same playing XI that conquered Indore.
Smith-led Australia made a comeback in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a resounding nine-wicket victory in spin-friendly conditions at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore. The 76-run target did not trouble confident Australian batters as India lost the Test in the first session and chased the target down easily. India still leads the series 2-1 after having secured wins in the first two matches of the series.
The first two Test matches between India and Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series came to an end within three days. The Nagpur Test yielded result in eight sessions and the Delhi Test also produced result in the same time. The Indore Test came to an end in just seven sessions.
India likely playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami
Australia likely playing XI: Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith (c), Peter Handscomb, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Matthew Kuhnemann
ALSO READ:
Sunil Gavaskar explains why spin-friendly pitches are being prepared in India
Australian batter wants to continue play more sweep shots in Ahmedabad Tests, says ‘if you change your method too much...’
