India’s captain Rohit Sharma walks off the field after the toss prior to the start of the second cricket test match between Australia and India at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AP
India won the toss and elected to bat first as they face Australia in the second Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Friday (December 6, 2024) as both sides take on the crease at the iconic Adelaide Oval.
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Blazing sunshine and dry heat prevailed for a large part of Thursday (December 5, 2024) before the clouds made a fleeting appearance over the Adelaide Oval. There is a forecast for the odd thunder-shower on the opening day, a disruption that may not have a major effect. India leads 1-0 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, an advantage that Rohit Sharma’s men want to build upon at a venue which offers mixed signals from the past.
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In the lead-up to the latest contest, there have been exhaustive discussions about how the pink ball would move under lights and the tricky phase of dealing with twilight. India has won three of its four day-and-night Tests and all those triumphs were scripted in home conditions.
On the eve of the second Test, skipper Rohit Sharma clarified that the management has no intention of disturbing the opening combination of K.L. Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal. He said, “K.L. Rahul will open, I will bat somewhere in the middle-order.”
A quiet optimism and a hint of irritation were evident as Pat Cummins spoke to the media at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday. Stressing that he and his men were in a good space ahead of the second Test, the host skipper said: “Look, the team is great, we have prepared like we always do and there is a great feeling around the team.”
The Hindu’s K.C. Vijaya Kumar is bringing in live updates from the stadium.
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