🏏India vs Australia, 3rd Test: Venue: Holkar C Stadium, Indore 🏏

🏏India vs Australia, 3rd Test: Venue: Holkar C Stadium, Indore 🏏

India and Australia are set to battle against each other in the 3rd Test of the ongoing series begins on March 1 (Wednesday). The venue of the clash is Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.

Rohit Sharma is the skipper of India in the IND vs AUS Test series. Pat Cummins is the captain of Australia. However, in his absence, Steve Smith will lead the team in IND vs AUS 3rd Test. India has already retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and leads the series 2-0.

India won the 1st Test by innings and 132 innings. Australia batted first in the match and piled up 177-10 in 1st innings. Later, India replied with 400 all-out, taking a 223-run lead.

Later, India bowled out Australia for a mere 91 in the 2nd innings, grabbing a huge victory.

India bagged victory in the 2nd Test by 6 wickets. Batting first, Australia was bundled out for 263 in the 1st innings. Usman Khawaja scored a marvelous 81 runs for the team, while Peter Handscomb slammed an unbeaten 72. To this, India replied with 262-10, getting short of 1 run.

In the 2nd innings, visitors Aussie succumbed to India’s spin attack, getting all out for just 113.

Later, the Rohit Sharma-led side easily managed to chase down the 115-run target with 6 wickets in hand. Ravindra Jadeja, who showed an incredible batting and bowling show in the 1st and 2nd Testy, won the man of the match awards in both matches.

It is confirmed now that India will pick up the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but there's still time for Australia to pick up the pieces.

And the visitors have shown promise in the series, only to break it at critical junctures.

Rohit Sharma is the skipper of India in the IND vs AUS Test series. Pat Cummins is the captain of Australia. However, in his absence, Steve Smith will lead the team in IND vs AUS 3rd Test. India has already retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and leads the series 2-0.

IND vs AUS Head-to-Head Records (Tests)

Stats Matches 104

IND Won 32

AUS Won 43

Draw 28

At Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore--First match playing here.
In the last 5 matches

Ind --4

Aus 0

Draw 1
In India 52

India 23

Aus13

Draw 15

(1 Test match between India and Australia ended in a tie in 1986)

Recent Venue Records (Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore)

Test Records

Total matches- 2

Matches won batting first- 1

Matches won bowling first-1

Average 1st Inns scores- 353

Average 2nd Inns scores- 396

Average 3rd Inns scores- – 214

Average 4th Inns scores- 153

Highest total recorded- 557/5 (169 Ov) by IND vs NZ

Lowest Total Record- 150/10 (58.3 Ov) by BAN vs IND

India

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill/KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

Australia

Probable XI: Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Peter Handscomb, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Todd Murphy, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann

Toss Prediction for the IND vs AUS Match

The team winning the toss might opt to bat first. Australia won the toss in the previous two games and opted to bat first. India will also look for a similar strategy if they win the toss in the next game. Batting first is being looked at as a favorable option in IND vs AUS Test series.

Australia will have a new captain and a fairly new-look bowling attack for this Test. Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc, so long the subject of fitness scrutiny on the tour, are finally expected to take the field in this series. The left-arm seamer will come in for Cummins and the all-rounder's return, likely in place of Matt Renshaw. Australia are also likely to play their three spinners from Delhi and have a deeper five-man attack. However, they haven't yet ruled out Lance Morris and his 'pace through the air' or an extra batter as options.

Rohit Sharma has only one selection call to make. Persist with the now ex-vice captain KL Rahul or bring in the in-form Shubman Gill. Both batters have indulged in long practice sessions for two days in the build-up to this Test. However, it was Gill that turned up alongside his captain for an optional net session on the eve of the match, hinting that it may well be his turn to have a go in this series. The Indian captain, however, stated that training patterns or even the removal of Rahul's vice-captaincy were not indicators of selection to the XI. He also reiterated his claim that "players with potential going through a tough time will be given enough time to prove themselves." Make sense of all that if you will.

The summer is settling in ever so steadily in central India. While the mornings are still pleasant, mid-afternoon temperatures will climb up to 34 degrees Celsius during the Test match. This will have an effect on the pitch, which as Smith reckoned was dry from the six-metre good length towards the stumps on each side. So spin will continue to remain a big factor. India have made big scores in each of the two Tests played here. Neither of those games, against New Zealand and Bangladesh, however, were played this late in the Indian season. And so, as ever, the first innings advantage will count for a lot and Australia for one, will hope Smith will have imbibed Cummins' luck with the toss. Although it should be noted that Madhya Pradesh made 245 (won) and 241 (lost) in the fourth innings here in the Ranji Trophy quarters and semis respectively earlier this month.

As for Rohit Sharma's team, it is a case of carrying on in the same style: aggressive, focused, settled and hungry, with a trifecta of rewards within reach. A win in Indore will clinch India the series, qualification to a second straight Test Championship final as well as wrest back the No.1 ranking. Their five-fanged bowling attack has been relentless and faultless to a T. So much so that in four innings now, and in 30 off the last 36 dating back to 2018, India haven't even needed the second new ball. The major question mark, if any, surrounds the top order. With such prizes in sight, might they contrive to produce the sort of performance in keeping with their old reputation

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