NEW DELHI: India are set to take on Australia in the opening Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Perth, starting November 22. The Indian team has already secured back-to-back series wins in Australia, first under Virat Kohli’s leadership in 2018-19, followed by Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy in 2020-21.
With Rohit Sharma now at the helm, India are targeting a historic third consecutive triumph on Australian soil.
To secure direct qualification for the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in June 2025, India need to win four Tests in this series.
Australia, on the other hand, have not defeated India in a home Test series since the 2014-15 season, having lost the 2018-19 and 2020-21 series.
The two teams also faced off in the World Test Championship final and the 50-over World Cup final last year, with Australia emerging victorious in both.
This series marks the first five-Test encounter between India and Australia in over 30 years.
WEATHER REPORT:
The weather forecast for Perth on November 22 predicts pleasant conditions with a partly sunny sky.
The temperature will be around 22°C, with a light breeze coming from the south-southwest at 17 km/h, gusting up to 33 km/h.
Humidity will be moderate at 52%, and the chance of rain is minimal, with a 1% probability of precipitation.
Cloud cover will be at 57%, and visibility will be excellent at 10 km.
SQUADS:
India’s squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed
Australia squad for 1st Test: Pat Cummins (Capt.), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc