IND vs AUS: Banter, jokes and laughter filled the air as Rohit Sharma led Team India reached Adelaide for the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a day-night, pink-ball affair, starting from December 6 onwards.
India is heading into the game with a mental and physical edge over the Aussies who were left devastated by Bumrah’s bowling and captaincy during a 295-run loss at Perth’s Optus Stadium in the first Test.
However, the visitors would be looking to overcome the ghosts of the 2020 Adelaide pink-ball Test, which saw them being bundled out for their lowest Test score of 36 runs, starting that series on a nightmarish note. Pat Cummins (4/21) and Josh Hazlewood (5/8) had run riot over the Indian line-up in the second innings, getting an easy target of 90 runs to chase.
In a video posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the team was seen having some fun at the airport before they could start sweating it out for a serious assignment. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had cracked a brilliant 161 at Perth, hilariously found himself stuck inside the airport behind a glass wall.
“Phas gya woh (He is stuck)”, said skipper Rohit Sharma. To this, Shubman Gill replied that it was a “no entry zone” and the door would open if players would go close to it.
At a shop, as all-rounder Washington Sundar searched for a nice hat to wear, batter Sarfaraz Khan asked him to try one, saying “Mogambo lagega (You will look like Mogambo)”, to this, Washington replied, “I look like a magician”. Towards the end of the video, Yashasvi finally joined the rest of his team.
Australia squad (for second Test): Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal.
