What a series it has been so far! Australia humiliating India in the first match at Pune, followed by a spectacular Indian win in Bangalore. Then we had an exciting draw in Ranchi which saw Cheteshwar Pujara establish himself as India’s #1 batsman, even more important than captain Virat Kohli.
Kohli, of course, has led the team with pride and passion but he has been strangely silent with the bat, averaging under 10 in the series. There is a cloud over the Indian captain’s fitness as we head to the fourth test at Dharamshala, perhaps the most beautiful cricket stadium in the world.
So it’s 1-1 with everything to play for. The team that wins the test that starts tomorrow, will be seen as the best in world cricket. There is a lot of pride involved as both sets of players have become great rivals through the series, a rivalry that boils on hatred, at least for the Australian players, fans and media, as far as India’s incredibly aggressive captain Kohli is concerned.
Kohli has been very abrasive in this series and it would be a pity if he is to miss out because of an injury. The Australian media really, really hates Kohli, with the Daily Telegraph calling him the “Donald Trump of World Cricket”. Kohli does not care too much about that though.
Captain Kohli said in a press conference held last evening: “I have faced this initially in my career and have faced this many times in my career. I have always stuck by the right thing, have done the right thing. Always said what I wanted to because I feel it’s right. I have no regrets about it, have nothing to go back and change and the only thing is that so many people are being affected by this one individual. They are selling their news, good luck to them.”
“It is something that is happening on the outside and I try and look in the inside, what are the things I improve upon as a cricketer and as a person and what my team mates think about me and what my close ones think about me. These don’t bother me, it never mattered to me,” Kohli added.
Australia’s Captain Steve Smith has performed spectacularly in this series, and has scored tons of runs already. He has certainly won his duel with the bat against the Indian captain.
Smith said in a press conference: “I’m focused on what we can control, and that’s playing each ball one at a time and concentrating on the processes of what we need to do in the middle and doing them for just a little bit longer than we have perhaps in the last two Tests. It’s a really exciting time for this team to be involved in this game.”
Team News
Shreyas Iyer has been called as a cover for India’s captain Kohli. A final decision will be taken on Kohli’s participation in the final test after a fitness examination later tonight.
Meanwhile Australia would be targeting Pujara, who has stood like a rock against them. Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Umesh Yadav have bowled very well and are certain to take the fight to the Aussies. The rest of the Indian team, however, is yet to perform in this series.
For Australia, David Warner’s form remains a concern. But they are a very confident side and would certainly fancy their chances against the Indians. A win for them here will seal the series, and will be seen as perhaps the greatest victory in the proud history of Australian cricket. Will the final frontier be conquered?
The Teams
India: 1 M Vijay/Abhinav Mukund, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt)/Shreyas Iyer, 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Karun Nair, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 9 Ravindra Jadeja, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav
Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Matt Renshaw, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Steve O’Keefe, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood.
