Adelaide, Dec 8:
The usually aggressive build-up has turned poignant owing to Phillip Hughes’ tragic death but the on-field face-off is unlikely to be anything less than high-voltage when India and Australia compete in the opening cricket Test of a four-match series, starting here tomorrow.
More than two weeks after landing here, India will finally get down to serious competition with Virat Kohli leading the side in place of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is still recovering from a hairline fracture in his right thumb.
The visitors will be hoping to reverse their last Test series’ result in this country, when under Dhoni they had lost 4-0 in 2011-12. However, that thought will not be at the forefront when the match begins tomorrow.
Instead, it will be an emotion-laden atmosphere that will welcome both teams, and for good reason. Adelaide is the adopted home of Hughes and there will be an intense outpouring of emotion before play gets underway.
Cricket Australia and South Australia Cricket Association have quite a few plans about honouring the cricketer, who was hit by a bouncer on November 24 in a Sheffield Shield game in Sydney and died two days later.
For Australian cricket, and their whole community sporting or otherwise, it has been a very tough two weeks. It is remarkable how they have mourned Hughes and celebrated every aspect of his short life, during which he played 26 Tests.
Teams (from):
India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadea, R Ashwin, Karn Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, KL Rahul, Naman Ojha, MS Dhoni.
Australia: Michael Clarke (c), David Warner, Chris Rogers, Shane Watson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon. 12th man: Josh Hazlewood.
Phillip Hughes will be the honorary 13th man for the Australian team in this first Test.
Match starts at: 5.30 am IST. (PTI)
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