🏏Australia vs India, 1st Test: Perth Stadium, Day 4, Nov 22-Nov 26.🏏 - Page 3

With 30 minutes to go for the toss, not much change in the crowd scene am afraid. Not many inside and neither are they “streaming in through the turnstiles”. Surprisingly. The Indian-origin crowds too haven’t yet turned up in any significant numbers. Of course, the official start of play is at 10.20, an hour away. With the entry and exit a breeze in this large stadium, one can afford to come close to start and still get to your seat before the first edge carries through to second slip.

India vs Australia: “HOW IS your kid doing,” India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah asks his Aussie counterpart Pat Cummins. They are a few feet and a couple of minutes away from the unveiling of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that they will be fighting for over five Test matches from Friday at Perth. Cummins is all smiles, and asks the same question to Bumrah, who launches into a long excited reply about his one-year-old son Angad.

Light bulbs are flashing around them as photographers and broadcasters are busy capturing visuals for their pre-series packages. Oblivious, Cummins says, “that moment when the kid first walks”, and both — the ODI World Cup winning captain and world’s best fast bowler — go “awww”.

It is hard to believe the two teams with the fiercest rivalry in world cricket are about to start their freshest battle in a day’s time. But then it’s also scarcely believable that the Australian cricketing establishment, the media, and even the government has been almost going “awww” about this India-Australia Test series.

Usually, the Australian media acts as their team’s 12th man. They are known to give a snarly treatment to the visitors. Once England’s Kevin Pietersen was famously welcomed by a huge headline across the local newspapers that read “The Ego has landed”. In contrast, the Indian team has almost been feverishly giddily welcomed.

Travis Head has hit a purple patch in all formats in the last few years and few teams have felt the heat of that more than India.

Newscorp, an Australian news agency with a vast imprint across newspapers, took out full-page cricket features, splashing images of the likes of Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal with headlines that ran in Punjabi and Hindi. Almost advertorial in the content, newspapers have run glowing pieces about Indian players.

Diverse Australia is making an effort to be inclusive. It hasn’t escaped the local population with roots in the subcontinent. Jafri, a cabbie of Pakistan origin, says, “Yeh toh hona hi tha (This was bound to happen). India has all the money in cricket bhai. Finally, our side of the world is being recognised and respected. Hopefully soon, they will call my name also properly: Arabic ka Jafri, not English Geoffrey!”

Things have been a bit harsh on Kl Rahul, last series dropped after first match was batting at 5-6, now has been asked to open in these conditions where he might be dropped when Rohit comes back.

In contrast, the composition of India's team will be something to keep an eye on because of the players they are missing. All indications from the buildup point to KL Rahul opening with Yashasvi Jaiswal, with Devdutt Padikkal expected to slot in at No.3 in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.

Ashwin will play his First ever test at Perth i read at regional news paper.

Reddy & Rana H debut for india

All the best team INDIA.👍

BLEED BLUE💙💙💙

India have won the toss and have opted to bat