akash deep India have made their choice, and must now make it count

India have made their choice, and must now make it count

Ravindra Jadeja is looking at a pretty decent landmark when the rain clears in Brisbane. The 500th wicket by a spinner at the Gabba.

The fact that he was out there though was a bit of a surprise. There's a bit of history about choosing to bowl first at the Gabba. India have a bit of history with it as well. They haven't chosen to bowl in an overseas Test since 2014.

In the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the reason for India batting first was clear. In Perth, with the pitch breaking down as the game goes on, uneven bounce comes into play, and run-making in the final innings becomes hard. Pakistan were bowled out for 89 batting last in 2023. In Adelaide, with it being a day-night Test, batting first comes with the possibility of doing well and earning the chance to declare at twilight on day two.

India have been concerned about their batting on this tour, about the pace and bounce on offer and the need to have insurance against it. That's why they began the series by giving debuts to Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy. That meant they had people until No. 9 capable of scoring some runs if it was needed and two weeks ago they certainly thought it was needed.

Then Reddy came good and gave India the option to play around a bit more with their bowlers, specifically their spinners. Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said they chose R Ashwin for the Adelaide Test because he was the better bowler. They weren't so worried about his batting because they were comfortable with Reddy's output at No. 7.

Jadeja being brought in for Brisbane might suggest they're back to considering their batting depth. He is certainly the best source for runs of all their three spinners, and he averages 21.78 with the ball in Australia.

 akash deep
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