State of affairs for Nagpur

RECENT FORM

Deciphering India’s test form on its way to the blockbuster series is difficult purely due to the fact that it has barely played five-day games in recent times.

In the past 12 months, India has played just five Tests. That is the fewest of any Test playing nation, and five less than Australia has played in the same period.

India won four of those five matches, beating Sri Lanka twice at home and Bangladesh twice away, with a seven-wicket loss to England at Edgbaston in July.

The 2021 country was much busier from a Test perspective with 14 games played against England in the calendar year, eight of which.

India only lost three of those encounters, which is why it is still ranked as the second best Test country in the world, according to the ICC, despite a lack of matches of late.

Over the past two years, India’s win-loss ratio of 1,833 is behind only Australia, which has lost just one of its past 15 Tests.

Depending on where you rank Bazball-era England, the Border-Gavaskar series is a battle between the two biggest Test nations in the world, or at least two of the top three.

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TWO MASSIVE FLOWERS

Australia could miss Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc for the first Test, but it’s India nursing even deeper wounds.

The team’s injury list includes two names that Australians need no introduction to: Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant.

Both have excellent records against Australia.

Since the start of the summer 2018-2019, Bumrah has taken 32 wickets at 21.25 against Australia, behind only Stuart Broad (36 at 26.52) for Aussie scalps taken in that span.

Needless to say, the loss of Bumrah is a huge blow to India. The unorthodox fast bowler brilliantly led Indian attacks that claimed successive Border-Gavaskar trophies in Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21.

In the final series, Pant delivered one of the greatest Test innings of all time at the Gabba as he smoked an unbeaten 89 off 138 balls to Australia to claim the series in the nation’s fortress.

However, that wasn’t the only time Pant tormented Australia. The wicket-keeper batsman’s seven Tests against Australia have seen him make 626 runs at 62.40, with an impressive strike rate of 72.13.

The 25-year-old will miss the series after a horrific fiery car accident in December that he thankfully survived. He underwent surgery in January to repair a torn knee ligament, while also sustaining injuries to his head, back and leg.

KS Bharat and Ishan Kishan were brought in to replace Pant, though neither have played Test cricket.

Former India player and selector Saba Karim said the absence of the pants exposes a major weakness for the Australians to attack.

One spot Australia would like to exploit is that of opposition wicketkeeper. Rishabh Pant has changed the face of Test cricket for India and I hope they don’t feel the pinch of his absence, he said.

Bumrah, meanwhile, has not played for India since September due to a back injury. There were hopes that he would be fit in time for the first Test, but he was asked to undergo an additional month of rehabilitation. It means he will miss at least the first two Tests against Australia.

Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer is recovering from his own back injury which will keep him out for the first test.

India is still closely monitoring the condition of spinning all-rounder Ravindra Jedeja, who has not played for India since August.

He made a successful comeback via the Ranji Trophy last month, while his return to play against Australia would be a big boost for the hosts, with slow left-handers potentially playing a big role.

Jadeja was India’s leading wicket taker on Australia’s final tour in 2017, taking 25 wickets at 6.56pm.

WHO ARE THE BIGGEST THREATS?

Missing Bumrah and Pant robs India of two major threats, but leaves plenty for Australians to worry about.

Arguably at the top of that list is veteran tweaker Ravichandran Ashwin, a formidable opponent on home soil.

Why else would Australia have picked a so-called Ashwin impersonator from Indian domestic cricket to pitch to its batters?

Young spinner Mahesh Pithiya, whose action is eerily similar to Ashwin’s, has been bowling into the nets for the Australians for the past week as part of the visitors’ preparation.

It was enough to amuse former India opener Wasim Jaffer, who tweeted: (Ashwin) is already in Aus head.

Of Ashwin’s 449 Test wickets, 312 of them came home at an average of 21.16 runs apiece.

Against Australia, he took 21 wickets at 27.38 in India’s final Border-Gavaskar series, while holding a strong record against some of the top tourist hitters.

Ashwin has sacked David Warner 10 times in Test cricket at an average of 33.10, and Steve Smith six times with 44.33. Those averages may not seem like much, but they are well below the normal production rates of those hitters.

Meanwhile, the orthodox left-arm spinners have been rioting in India for the past three years, with four of the top five wicket takers Axar Patel, Jack Leach, Ajaz Patel and Jadeja included in the discipline. In India’s last Border-Gavaskar series in 2017, Australian left arm tweaker Steve OKeefe was the country’s top bowler with 19 wickets at 23.26.

As such, it should come as no surprise to see Jadeja or Axar Patel cause huge headaches in this series as well. That said, the latter is in a selection clash with left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, with opinion in India divided over who should play the first Test.

Former India fast Irfan Pathan firmly believes Patel should play, singles out the 29-year-old as the only bowler who can give Smith a major headache.