IND vs AUS: What happened the last time India played a Test match in Delhi?
After their plain-sailing victory in Nagpur, Team India will look to make it two in two when they play Australia in the second of the four-match Test series. The upcoming fixture is set to kickstart at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Friday, February 17.
So far, India have played a total of 34 Test matches in Delhi, winning 13, drawing 15 and losing six of those.
The pitch in the national capital is good for batters and spinners. Batters enjoy themselves in the first half of Test matches, while the spinners come into play later. The upcoming India vs. Australia Test should follow a similar pattern.
The last time India played a Test match in Delhi was in November 2017. The Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium (now known as Arun Jaitley Stadium) hosted the last fixture of the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka, which the hosts won by a scoreline of 1-0.
After opting to bat first, India lost both Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara and were at 78-2. Local boy Virat Kohli joined Murali Vijay at the crease and the duo started to dominate the Lankan attack with ease.
While Kohli powered his way to a majestic 243, Vijay clobbered 155. Due to their splendid 283-run partnership, Vijay and Kohli took India from 78-2 to 361-3. The hosts piled up a gargantuan 536/7 in the first innings. In reply, Sri Lanka scored 373, riding on tons from Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal.
Virat Kohli scored 243 and 50 in the last Test India played at Delhi, against Sri Lanka.
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India set a 410-run target for the visitors after adding 246 runs to their first-innings lead. Dhawan, Kohli and Rohit Sharma scored half-centuries during India's second innings.
Owing to Dhananjaya de Silva's fighting century, Sri Lanka played out Day 5 before both skippers shook hands for a draw.
Shreyas Iyer likely to feature in the second Test against Australia
Rahul Dravid confirms Shreyas Iyer will start tomorrow’s second Test against Australia if passed fit ✅🇮🇳
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After enduring a back injury in the third week of January, Shreyas Iyer missed out on the opening first Test in Nagpur against Australia.
However, a return might be on the cards for the Mumbai-born batter in Delhi on Friday. The talented right-hander rejoined the squad in Delhi, where he had a long stint batting in the nets on Wednesday (February 15).
Without Iyer in the previous game, India handed a Test debut to Suryakumar Yadav, who failed to make a mark and only scored eight runs. Iyer, meanwhile, has enjoyed a fabulous start to his Test career so far.
In the seven Tests he has played, Iyer has accumulated 624 runs at an average of 56.7, including five half-centuries and a century.
Ahead of the second Test match's press conference, India head coach Rahul Dravid also remarked that Iyer will "walk straight into the side" if he feels fine.
India’s squad for second Test: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav