India drew an emphatic first blood in their Test series with Australia and now they head to Adelaide for the second match of the scheduled five looking to move two up with three to play with victory in the day-night game.
Australia know that they won’t be out of the series with a defeat here but they would be bang up against it so they will be keen to come out on top with the pink ball and level the series up and turn it into a best-of-three.
Australia
When they rolled India over for 150 in the opening game Australia would have expected to dominate proceedings from there, especially in Perth where the pace and bounce on show is at its most extreme and most likely to suit the home side over the away one. It didn’t pan out that way though because as quickly as they had the advantage they gave it away and couldn’t get back into the match. They ended up being well beaten so the onus is on them to get back to dominating here.
Australia have a pretty good record with the pink ball. They haven’t lost a single pink ball Test match here in Adelaide and this will be the eighth one that they will have competed in. Their seam attack dominate the opposition in this day-night era and they will hope they can do that again. One area of concern is the batting though. It has been an aging unit for a while and it certainly looked like the best might have been and gone in Perth. They will be out to show that isn’t the case here.
India
There was a thinking that India would build their way into this series for a couple of reasons. The first one was because they were humbled at home by New Zealand recently and the second was because they were without some injured players for the opening game, and as it often the case in this day and age they hadn’t really had much in the way of competitive preparation in these conditions. They will therefore be delighted to get off to a winning start when shorthanded.
India have a seam attack that can enjoy themselves in the pink ball match too. That attack just went very well in Perth and if they can keep their stranglehold on this Australian batting unit then they will believe they have the batting class and depth to get the job done here, especially with reinforcements coming in. India look a much stronger unit on paper in this match and if they can win the toss and dominate the timings they could put some real distance between themselves and Australia in the series.
Special Offer
Open a new Sporting Index account and bet £10 on the series (min odds 1/2) to get £20 in free bets (2x£10 free bets) to use on any sports market! Click the image below to take advantage of this great offer! 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Responsibly.
Team News
Australia were forced into one change from the opening game of the series with Josh Hazlewood out injured. Scott Boland is predictably his replacement in what is an otherwise unchanged side where Nathan McSweeney will get another chance to shine.
India were without their captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill in the opening match of the series. Both men are expected to return here at the expense of Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel. Washington Sandar is expected to be the lone spinner.
Betting
Something is going to have to give here. Australia have won every day-night match here in Adelaide but India suddenly have a brilliant record against the Australians and I wonder if it is that which is more important given that Australia would have been expected to win the majority of the matches that they have won here even if they were with a red ball given the opposition they faced. Generally the draw isn’t in play in day-night matches so the 7/5 on India to win what isn’t a huge amount outside a 50:50 contest feels like decent value.
India have just won without a couple of key batters who they have back here and in conditions which probably didn’t suit them at all. Conditions in Perth are about as alien as they could be for the Indians. I’m not convinced by this Australian batting unit. Their gun batters suddenly look a little older than they would like to be and there isn’t anyone at the top of the order to take the game to the bowlers and get them off their lengths. If India can settle into a rhythm with the ball I think they’ve got enough to get the job done here.
Tips
Back India to beat Australia for a 3/10 stake at 2.40 with Bet365
Be the first to comment on "Australia vs India – 2nd Test Tips and Betting Preview"