Thrilling as Adelaide’s Test match turned out to be, its rhythms and conditions were more subcontinental than sub-tropical. Brisbane’s reshuffled status as the second match of the series means India’s players have had a little more time to get used to playing down under, but the conditions they are to face at the Gabba will be a world away from Adelaide’s modest pace and sharp spin.
So it is that Australia’s new captain Steven Smith, all of 25 years and 23 Tests behind him, can take comfort in the fact that he is beginning his tenure on a venue where the hosts are seldom threatened, let alone beaten. Smith has stated that Australia’s brand of cricket will not change under his stewardship, and in Brisbane last year that meant a shirt-front of a performance that stunned England and dictated the outcome of the Ashes series.
Starting a Test in Brisbane a mere four days after the opener has cost Australia their most reliable paceman in Ryan Harris, and while the inclusion of Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc will freshen up the attack considerably, the older man’s precision and swing will be missed. There was a time when Peter Siddle could claim to provide almost as great a threat as Harris’, but his fading star has been emphasised by omission. Mitchell Johnson was also somewhat off-key in Adelaide, but he can be expected to be livened up by the Brisbane environs.
MS Dhoni’s return for India will likely mark a change in approach for the visitors, more pragmatic than the death or glory surge authored by Virat Kohli on Adelaide’s entrancing final day. Nonetheless, Dhoni may have learned a thing or two from how Kohli attacked, and by doing so brought India closer to competing with Australia than at almost any stage of the 2011-12 tour. If Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron and Ishant Sharma can find the right lengths on the sort of surface they are seldom fortunate enough to bowl on, India may have a chance.
Form guide
Australia WLLWL
India LLLLW
In the spotlight
For a few weeks, Brad Haddin has pondered the thought of captaining Australia. It was likely to have been at the Gabba before Michael Clarke regained fitness in time for Adelaide. But then Phillip Hughes was struck, the Tests were swapped, and Clarke tweaked back and tore hamstring in his efforts to honour Hughes in Adelaide. The moment has passed, and Haddin’s role as both mentor and lieutenant to Steven Smith will be critical to Australian success. To do his best, he will need to put those earlier thoughts of leadership to one side.
As well as Virat Kohli and M Vijay played in Adelaide, they will need some support from Cheteshwar Pujara in order to make the sorts of scores required to win at the Gabba. Neither as flashy nor outwardly combative as Kohli, Pujara is the sort of diligent, studious player who will have thought long and hard about how he can adapt his technique for Brisbane. India would want nothing more than a stolid, sheet-anchor hundred from their No. 3 here.
Team news
Ryan Harris (injured quad) and Peter Siddle (dropped) are out of the team that played in Adelaide, while Shaun Marsh will replace Michael Clarke. The new captain Smith has shuffled himself up to No. 4 in a batting order now at his disposal.
Australia 1 Chris Rogers, 2 David Warner, 3 Shane Watson, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Shaun Marsh, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Nathan Lyon.
MS Dhoni comes back into the team, while R Ashwin is a likely inclusion ahead of Karn Sharma – India’s pace attack is set to be unchanged.
India (probable) 1 M Vijay, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 MS Dhoni (capt,wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Varun Aaron, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Mohammad Shami.
Pitch and conditions
The Gabba surface is well grassed and appears likely to offer up near identical conditions to last summer’s Test strip, which afforded plenty of pace and bounce to Mitchell Johnson and company.
Stats and trivia
Steven Smith will be Australia’s 45th Test captain, and youngest since Kim Hughes in 1979
Shaun and Mitchell Marsh are the first Australian brothers to play together in a Test since Mark and Steve Waugh played their last together against Pakistan in the UAE in 2002
India have never won a Test at the Gabba, but had the better of a draw on their visit in 2003. The last time Australia lost at the Gabba was 26 years ago, against West Indies.
Quotes
“Hopefully after the wickets we’ve played on recently in Test cricket, the Adelaide Oval and the two in the UAE, it’s exciting for our fast bowlers to finally have something that’s going to have a bit of liveliness to it.”
Steven Smith begins his captaincy on a surface to the liking of his pacemen
“The last couple of tours we haven’t played here. We have won at some of the fastest Test wickets – Johannesburg and Perth. There will be something extra for the bowlers, especially the fast bowlers.”
MS Dhoni rates his team’s chances of performing on a swift Gabba pitch
