Australian batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner checked out the Nagpur pitch for the first test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India. The game starts on February 9th.
Left arm spinners a threat on this pitch, Smith concluded.
Warner and Smith have contrasting records in India.
Smith has a great record with 660 runs in 6 matches and 12 innings, an average of 60. He has scored 3 centuries and 1 fifty with a top score of 178*.
In contrast, Warner would want to improve his performance against India in the subcontinent. He has scored only 388 runs in 8 tests and 16 innings, with an average of 24.25. He has only hit 3 fifties with a top score of 71.
According to cricket.com.au, the Nagpur pitch is dry with loose cracks just two days before the game. Both teams will likely have many spin bowlers in their lineup.
Describing the pitch, Smith quoted
“Pretty dry, particularly one end. I think it will take a bit of spin, particularly the left-arm spinner taking it into our left-handers. There is a section there that is quite dry. Other than that, I can not really get a good gauge on it. I do not think there will be a heap of bounce in the wicket, I think it will be quite skiddy for the seamers and maybe a bit of up-and-down movement as the game goes on.”
The first India vs Australia Test will be held at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
India holds the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after winning a series in Australia in 2020-21. The competition has four test matches. Both teams want to secure a place in the World Test Championship final.
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner
India squad: (for the first two Tests) Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.
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