Australia‘s tour of India has been, at least so far, a tale of two halves. The Australian team had come into the series brimming with confidence, buoyed by their recent win over India on home soil in 2020-21 and the strength of their powerful batting line-up. However, despite a gritty fightback in the second match of the series, Australia could not avoid back-to-back defeats against some exceptional bowling from Ashwin and Jadeja. This unfortunate result means that India are now well placed for yet another series win against Australia, having won four consecutive series since 2018/19. Such dominance illustrates just how formidable and deep the current Indian side is and why they remain one of the unstoppable forces in world cricket today.
With the unfortunate news of a serious family health issue, Pat Cummins flew back to his home in Australia right after the conclusion of the second Test, leaving question marks about his participation for the upcoming third Test. Speculations were made about Cummins’ return in time for the Indore match starting March 1, but it continues to remain uncertain. If Cummins is not fit enough to make it, then Steve Smith will take over as captain for the Australian squad. During this difficult period for Cummins and family, the cricketing community has come together sending its love and support to him and his family.
The Australia cricket team is feeling the pressure of injuries as the third test of their series with India approaches. David Warner, senior opener and Josh Hazlewood, senior seamer, have both been ruled out due to injury – Warner’s elbow fracture and Hazlewood’s Achilles respectively. Cameron Green has attained fitness from his finger injury and should play in Indore, but the visitors still express concern over Mitchell Starc‘s finger issue too. To make matters worse, off-spinner Todd Murphy, fresh off of a 7-wicket haul in his debut Nagpur Test and playing in Delhi is also dealing with some minor side soreness. It remains to be seen if any other injuries effect Australia as they look forward to a crucial third match in the series.
Coach Andrew McDonald seems to have quite the dilemma on his hands. Australia need a miracle if they’re to turn their difficult series around, and with no time to waste in the quest for victory, Coach McDonald must make some pivotal decisions about his squad and injuries in order to better prepare his team. Even more weighing on him is the departure of left-arm spinner Ashton Agar, who was part of the initial squad but never got to play. To make matters worse, Matthew Kuhnemann took his place after the first Test, making Coach McDonald’s decision-making process even more emotionally taxing. It will be interesting to see what choices the coach makes in such a high stakes situation with so much at stake.
Reports suggest that Lance Morris, who was part of Australia’s touring squad so far, has departed back to Down Under. This could understandably raise the questions on whether the team is set to return all together and annul their tour of India. Nevertheless, there is no evidence to uphold such a wild speculation in the air as the Kangaroos have sharply remained focused and disciplined over the course of weeks. They appear to be determined to bear with whatever punches thrown at them and bounce off playing out both- if not win- the remaining Tests that lie ahead anyway, despite knowing that they may have already lost grounds in terms of wins.
