Pacer Scott Boland will replace injured Josh Hazlewood in the upcoming Adelaide Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) against India as Australia skipper Pat Cummins named the playing eleven, as reported by cricket.com.au. The Adelaide Test will be Boland’s first match for Australia in the last 18 months. Skipper Cummins also confirmed that Mitchell Marsh will be fit to bowl in the Adelaide Test, according to cricket.com.au. Boland’s previous Test was against England in the prestigious Ashes 2023 series. The 35-year-old will be replacing Hazlewood who suffered an injury during the Perth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
On the other hand, Marsh has been added to the playing eleven even after battling with back stiffness, which stopped him from bowling at full tilt during India’s second innings in the Perth Test, as per cricket.com.au.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Cummins said that it’s “pretty awesome” to have Scott Boland in the squad.
“It’s pretty awesome for someone like Scotty to come straight in,” Cummins was quoted by cricket.com.au as saying.
Meanwhile, India are yet to name their playing eleven for the upcoming pink-ball Test.
The Adelaide test will kickstart from December 6 onwards, with India 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.
Australia Playing XI for the Second Test: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
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