Shresta Hebbar
22nd November 2020
Captains in conversation (Source: Free Press Journal)
After nine long months of no international cricket due to the coronavirus pandemic, the men's Indian cricket team are set to face Australia on 27 November.
The Virat Kohli led team was last seen on the field against South Africa during the three-match One Day International series. However, the series was abandoned without even a single ball played because of being called off due to the COVID-19 crisis. The Australian side led by Aaron Finch hasn't played since their 2-1 win over England in September.
India's tour of Australia begins with a three-match ODI series starting from 27 November, followed by a T-20 series on 4 December. The two sides will then head into the Border Gavaskar Trophy featuring four tests beginning on 17 December.
A total of 30 squad members (ODI, TEST, T-20) travelled together and are in 14-day quarantine in Sydney.
The much-awaited match will be telecasted on SONY SIX and live-streamed on SONYLiv at 9:10 AM IST on 27 November.
The Indian side has a couple of formidable challenges to face throughout their 2-month tour of Australia like the absence of Rohit Sharma. India will most certainly miss his presence on the bouncy pitches of Australia as he is a master of the pull shot and the management have to answer a big question now- what will be the ideal opening partnership in his absence?
Mitchell Starc will also likely be a problem as the left-arm pacer didn't feature for any team in the IPL 2020. He will be well-rested ahead of the upcoming series as he was focusing on the T-20 world cup which has been postponed.
Indian coach Ravi Shastri has claimed that the tourists have nothing to lose and there's no pressure and are going to play their natural game. A veteran of 80 tests himself, Shastri said his team knew how to handle this Australian side, highlighting the two most recent series against them.
The Australian batsman Steve Smith was disappointed with his performance in the recent IPL where he averaged 25.91 for Rajasthan. The world's No.1 Test batsman has issued a warning to team India that he has found his hands again and is extremely excited to play. "It's hard to explain, but it just hasn't quite been right until probably two days ago. I found a little something and everything just clicked in."
(Sources: ESPN CricInfo, Inside Sport, The Sydney Morning Herald, Zee News)
Edited by: Aditi Anilkumar