Key Highlights:
- In the fourth Gabba Test at Brisbane on Friday India is to stand shoulder to shoulder with Australia
- Gabba is Australia's Test Cricket Fortresses and in the last 31 matches the host is unshot at the location
- Since 1988, Australia has not lost the Gabba test match
The ongoing Indian-Australian Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia has now reached the final stage. Both teams are now 1-1 after the Sydney Test draw and would like to win the final match. However, the 'Men in Pain' are in a turmoil with their eleven players ahead of tomorrow's fourth and final test of the series before evading the Australian Fortress Gabba in Brisbane. The biggest obstacle for team management is to pick playing eleven as most of the players in team are injured and team is facing shortage of players.
Team India began the series without one of their longest style pacers, Ishant Sharma, and for the first two games they missed Rohit Sharma's capabilities. 36 all out in their first test followed the exit of Virat Kohli and had the Aussies laughing their lips with the expectation that they will not only take the series, but also that India would triumph at home to exact revenge for the fiasco of 2018-19.
The cool, composed leadership of Ajinkya Rahane became a breath of fresh air for Team India, which proceeded to show why they are actually one of the world's best teams. India battered Australia with eight wickets in Melbourne, and confronted some of the players who may have expected a series so quickly. The second test resulted in another huge hit, as Umesh Yadav was dismissed after fracturing his calf. At the end of this test, India was short of Kohli and had already lost Mohamed Shami due to injury.
The team's worries have now been intensified after injuries of Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari in Sydney Test. In the third test, not just this, but even Ravichandran Ashwin and Rishabh Pant were seeming uncomfortable. At the same time Jasprit Bumrah, the fast bowler, has complained of the pressure of the stomach and is only expected to play after showcasing 50% fitness. Apart from that, the 4th Test contender Mayank Agarwal was injured during the pratice sessions in the net and there is a little chance of him playing.
Now, team management is forced to select Eleven among their current game selections as no other player from India can be named by BCCI because of the stringent quarantine rules in Brisbane. Moreover, Ricky Ponting says that Australia's imperious record at The Gabba and India injury toll is why Tim Paine's hand is contributing to the Brisbane series decision maker.
In Brisbane, India has a poor record in test games compared with Australia's fortunes. Six tests were played in The Gabba by India and could hardly win any. They lost five and drawn one. Captain Sourav Ganguly helped the team to produce its best results on the scene in 2003 in the form of a tie after his stubborn 144.
Possible XI:
Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, T Natarajan, Navdeep Saini
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