India vs Australia, 2nd Test: Toss result and playing 11s, umpires list and pitch report
Having clinched the Nagpur Test inside three days, India will look to continue their winning momentum when they face Australia in the second Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, which starts on Friday, February 17. There were plenty of positives for India from the opening Test, the return of Ravindra Jadeja, and that too with a bang, being the biggest.
Experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up another five-wicket haul in a home Test, going past 450 scalps in the format. With the bat, skipper Rohit Sharma led from the front with a sublime hundred, while Axar Patel played a fine hand in the lower order. India would want runs from Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, the latter playing in his 100th Test.
In the build-up to the opening Test, the Australian media and some ex-cricketers from the country were consumed by the pitch talk, which perhaps affected the visitors as well mentally. They were bowled out twice cheaply. The Aussies will be hopeful of a much better performance in Delhi. They will be the first to admit that they are a much better side than the one that capitulated in Nagpur.
IND vs AUS 2nd Test toss result
Australia have won the toss and opted to bat first.
Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc won’t feature in the second Test as well for the Aussies. Travis Head comes in for Matt Renshaw, while Matthew Kuhnemann has been handed his Test debut.
For India, a fit Shreyas Iyer returns for Suryakumar Yadav.
IND vs AUS 2nd Test - Match playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat (w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey (w), Pat Cummins (c), Todd Murphy, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann.
IND vs AUS 2nd Test pitch report
According to Sanjay Manjrekar and Matthew Hayden, the pitch looks better than the first Test - it looks good in the center, but changes as you come closer to the stumps, where the spinners will be effective. Seems like a Day 3 wicket with big cracks in the zone for the spinners. The groundsmen, though, say it is unlikely to break up. It's a dry wicket, so the seamers come into play early.
IND vs AUS 2nd Test match players list
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat (wk), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey (wk), Todd Murphy, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Agar, Matthew Kuhnemann, Lance Morris.
IND vs AUS - 2nd Test match umpires
On-field umpires: Michael Gough, Nitin Menon
TV umpire: Richard Illingworth
Match Referee: Andy Pycroft