India were dealt a crushing defeat in the first Test of the series against Australia in Pune. But India are not the No.1 Test side in the world for no reason and hit back strongly, showing the aggression of a caged lion which has been unleashed, in the Bangalore Test. After being under the cosh for two days, India hit back hard, winning the Bangalore Test and levelling the series 1-1.
After a bit of a mini-break, both teams will now look back to get into the groove of the fiercely competitive Test series, as the show now moves to the city of India’s most successful captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The pitch in Ranchi is unsurprisingly expected to be a turner and India are likely to make at least one change to their lineup. With spin being the most dangerous option, India might opt to bring back spin-bowling all-rounder Jayant Yadav back into the line-up in place of Karun Nair, who failed to capitalize on the rare opportunity given to him, at his home ground in Bangalore.
If Murali Vijay is fit again, he will definitely come back into the playing XI in place of Abhinav Mukund, as he is India’s undisputed first choice opener.
The more audacious move by the Indian team management would be to bring in Kuldeep Yadav in place of a batsman, as the Australians might find it hard to read him, But this move looks highly unlikely but with Kohli’s record of throwing in surprises, one never knows.
Probable India XI: Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav.
