File image of Devdutt Padikkal (centre).© AFP

Devdutt Padikkal and Ravichandran Smaran produced a masterclass in tackling spinners on a tough pitch as their fifties facilitated Karnataka’s entry into the Vijay Hazare Trophy final with a six-wicket over Haryana here on Wednesday. Karnataka’s chase of a manageable 238 began on a shaky note, losing skipper and top run-getter Mayank Agarwal in the first over itself, as pacer Anshul Kamboj‘s low-slung delivery trapped him in front of the wicket.

But Devdutt (86, 113b, 8×4, 1×6) and Smaran (76, 94b, 3×4, 3×6) milked 128 runs for the third wicket as Karnataka overhauled the target in 47.2 overs, making 238 for five.

But a victory with nearly three overs to spare at times can offer the picture of a canter, but the four-time champions’ march to the title clash with either Vidarbha or Maharastra was anything but that.

After Agarwal’s dismissal, KV Aneesh (22, 47b) took 14 balls to get off the mark and never really came to terms with the deck’s slow nature and variable bounce.

However, Devdutt and 21-year-old Smaran showed how to do that. Devdutt, fresh from his 102 against Baroda in the quarterfinals, paced his innings quite beautifully, taking the risk elements out of his game.

Most of his boundaries came through point or fine leg region as he played the ball late to counter spin.

But when the opportunity presented itself, the left-hander was happy to come down the track and thwack spinner Nishant Sindhu for a maximum over mid-wicket.

It was Devdutt’s seventh hundred in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

At the other end, Smaran too started cautiously but opened up once his fifty was reached.

He hammered spinners Sindhu and Amit Rana for a six each to underline his growing comfort levels.

Devdutt fell to Sindhu in his effort to close out the chase while Smaran was castled by the off-spinner.

But by then Karnataka had reached just 13 runs away from victory.

Earlier, Karnataka bowlers led by left-arm pacer Abhilash Shetty (4/34) kept Haryana on the back foot in the company of leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal (2/36) and pacer Prasidh Krishna (2/40).

Himanshu Rana (44) and skipper Ankit Kumar (48) added 70 runs for the second wicket but no one really built on the platform.

It required a 39-run alliance from 10th wicket pair – Anuj Thakral and Amit Rana – for Haryana to reach a respectable 237 for nine.

File image of Devdutt Padikkal (centre).© BCCI/IPL

Karnataka’s Prasidh Krishna, Devdutt Padikkal and Tamil Nadu all-rounder Washington Sundar will be available for the Vijay Hazare Trophy knockout matches, starting in Vadodara from Thursday, after featuring in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia. However, KL Rahul, who played all the five Test matches against the Aussies, has requested for a break and will skip the Hazare knockouts. Rahul’s availability for the second phase of the Ranji Trophy, beginning on January 23, will be decided at a later date. India head coach Gautam Gambhir had recently expressed his desire to see frontline Indian players making themselves available for the remainder of the premier domestic red-ball tournament.

Washington, though, could link up with Tamil Nadu only if the team progresses to the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

He played three matches and made 114 runs with a fifty but bowled just 37 overs across those Tests as pacers were preferred because of the conditions. The off-spinner took just three wickets.

Prasidh will be high on confidence after making a good impression in the fifth Test at Sydney, where the pacer grabbed six Australian wickets — 3/42 in the first innings and 3/65 in the second essay.

Devdutt played just one Test match at Perth, primarily because skipper Rohit Sharma stayed back in India to welcome his second baby.

The left-hander made a zero and 25 in India’s 295-run win at Perth but was not selected for any of the other four Test matches.

The 24-year-old was in terrific form prior to leaving for Australia for the India A tour, smashing four First-Class hundreds across Duleep Trophy and in the first leg of the Ranji Trophy.

Both Prasidh and Devdutt are scheduled to join the Karnataka squad on January 10, a day ahead of their quarterfinal match against Baroda at Vadodara.

Nitish to play Ranji

Nitish Kumar Reddy too will fly out of Australia on Wednesday but he will not be seen in action immediately as Andhra has not progressed to the knockout stage.

However, Nitish, who impressed everyone with his gutsy batting Down Under including a hundred at Melbourne, is likely to play in the second phase of the Ranji Trophy.

He has played only one match this season before travelling to Australia.

Andhra has two matches left this season against Puducherry from January 23 and against Rajasthan from January 30.

They are currently placed seventh in Elite Group B with four points after three defeats and two draws from five matches.

Rohit Sharma will take a step back to lead from the front as India look for the perfect combination to drive home the advantage against a wounded but famously resilient Australia in the day/night Test starting in Adelaide on Friday. Rohit, returning to the side from a brief paternity break, has taken the tough call of pushing himself down the order to accommodate K L Rahul at the top alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Both Rahul and Jaiswal excelled in Perth and had a big part in India’s biggest overseas win.

Shubman Gill has recovered from a thumb injury and will be back in the side alongside Rohit.

The resourceful side would be happy to have the headache of having to shuffle the side than being under-strength, which was the case when they last toured and beat all expectations to come out trumps.

Ahead of the second Test, Rohit said he decided to change his batting position keeping the team’s interests in mind.

“We want result, we want success. Those two guys at the top they batted brilliantly in Perth. I was watching from home. Rahul was brilliant to watch. He deserves that place at this point in time.

“There is no need to change that now, may be things will be different in future. Personally not easy for me (to move down) but for the team it made a lot of sense,” said Rohit adding that he will bat somewhere in the middle.

Playing Australia in Australia tends to bring the best out of the visiting Indian team which defied all expectations to boss the series-opener in Perth, handing Australia their first loss at the Optus stadium.

In their last trip Down Under, India made a comeback for the ages following the 36 all out debacle at the Adelaide Oval but the visitors are placed much better this time around, following the resounding result in the opening Test.

However, the day-night game presents a different challenge for the visiting team batters, who will have to be at their best to negate the extra seam movement generated by the pink ball, especially in the twilight phase.

Australia, who have lost only one out of their 12 day-night Tests at home, will be hurting from the hiding in Perth and having got a 10-day breather, they will be under pressure to make a comeback in the series.

Rohit, whose Test career got a second wind after he started opening in 2019, will bat in the middle order at least for for the time being.

The captain would want to be back among the runs after a lean home series against New Zealand.

His record in Australia is nothing to write home about and he would want to change that on probably his last tour Down Under.

Rohit and Gill will bolster the playing eleven at the expense of Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel.

Having recovered from a thumb injury, Gill looked good in the practice match and will carry the confidence of his past performances in Australia when he walks in to bat the at the hallowed ground.

The biggest positives with the bat in Perth were Virat Kohli regaining his rhythm and Jaiswal’s coming of age hundred in his debut Test in Australia. Both will look to build on those significant gains here.

No changes are expected in the bowling department though traditionally, the Adelaide pitch has aided the spinners, bringing R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja into discussion.

India’s Predicted XI for Adelaide Test vs Australia:

KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Mohammed Siraj.

Fast bowler Harshit Rana and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy are all set to make their Test debuts for India in the opening match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Friday, according to a report by The Indian Express. The report further claimed that neither Ravichandran Ashwin nor Ravindra Jadeja will play the first Test match in Perth. Instead, Washington Sundar is expected to play as the spin option. When it comes to the batting department, KL Rahul is expected to open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal while Devdutt Padikkal will be batting at No. 3 as Shubman Gill will miss out due to injury.

India skipper Rohit Sharma is set to reunite with his team in Australia, joining the squad in Perth on November 24, the third day of the ongoing first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. Rohit’s departure was delayed due to personal reasons, as he and his wife Ritika Sajdeh celebrated the birth of their second child, a baby boy, on November 15.

While the Indian team departed for Australia in three batches between November 9 and 11, Rohit opted to stay back in India to be with his family. His delayed arrival means he will miss the first Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth, which begins on Friday. However, the Indian captain will be available for the second Test at the Adelaide Oval, scheduled from December 6 to 10.

Jasprit Bumrah, the designated vice-captain in the squad, will lead the Indian team in the Perth Test and with Pat Cummins captaining Australia, this will be a rare occasion when two bowlers will lead their respective sides in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

Meanwhile, as part of his preparation for the Adelaide Test, Rohit will feature in a two-day day-night practice match between the India A team and the Prime Minister XI. The fixture, set to be held at Canberra’s Manuka Oval on November 30 and December 1, will provide Rohit with an opportunity to acclimatise to Australian conditions and regain match fitness, according to a report in Cricbuzz.

Rohit’s delayed travel to Australia had been a topic of intense speculation in the cricket fraternity. With the team already facing challenges due to injuries and absences, including Shubman Gill’s thumb injury and Jasprit Bumrah’s role as stand-in captain, there were concerns about when the skipper would join the squad.

India Likely XI for 1st Test against Australia: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Paddikal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah (captain).

(With IANS inputs)

Young India batter Devdutt Padikkal will need to embrace the challenges that will come his way if he gets an opportunity in the first Test against Australia starting here on Friday, feels his senior Karnataka teammate Mayank Agarawal. Padikkal, who was initially not a part of India’s jumbo 18-member squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, was asked to stay back after A team’s unofficial Tests Down Under following a blow to Shubman Gill’s left hand ahead of the series opener. If Gill remains sidelined, Padikkal is in line to take field for the second time in the format, having made his debut against England in March.

“They (Indian players) have had time to prepare. The good thing was (that) a lot of the guys went and played India A games,” Agarawal, who was in a similar situation on the 2018-19 tour when he was called up for the second Test at Melbourne, told PTI on Thursday.

“They have had at least three weeks to prepare themselves for the conditions. But it then now boils down to the mindset — are you willing to get into the fight? Or are you willing to embrace that fight? If he can get into that mindset — which he has; he has got a lot of skill, a lot of flair (and he) works hard on his game.” In fact, Padikkal looked one step closer to being certain of playing the first Test with BCCI’s official handles sharing a video of his experience of being back with the national side one day before the game.

“It feels really surreal to be honest. The intensity of the practice sessions were quite high. You feel that challenge; you will feel that everyone is ready, raring to go for the big series ahead,” Padikkal said.

“So, it is always pleasure to have training sessions with the Indian team because it feels as big as the match. Hopefully, it will translate to the game as well.” “I am glad that I am getting this opportunity, and hopefully I can make it count,” said Padikkal, who scored a fine 88 in the first unofficial Test at Mackay.

Agarawal backed the Indian batters to banish their recent struggles in Australia.

“They have prepared in the best way they can or they should, according to them, which we must trust. They are going to face challenges, definitely. It’s a place where cricket is played really hard,” said Agarwal, part of India’s 2-1 win on the 2018-19 tour.

“You want to put yourself out there with a mindset of saying, ‘I want to be in that tough situation, or, I want to be in a situation where the chips are down and I can find a way and win the situation and win the game for the team’,” he said.

Agarawal backed his long-time mate KL Rahul, who is set to open in place of Rohit Sharma in the opening Test, crediting him for his flexibility in the batting line-up.

“The real question here is that whenever you are going to play for India, when you are going to represent your national team, there is going to be pressure. The situations have been (different), where he has been asked to open and he has been asked to play different roles,” he said.

“I give him credit that he is somebody who is adapted to playing everywhere. We have seen that he has done really well overseas. He is very calm and he is very collected. He just needs to go about doing his routines, going about playing the way he plays and just stay calm,” he said.

Just three days to go before the Indian cricket team begins its Australian adventure in Perth. Ahead of the start of the series, however, the tourists were have been hit with multiple absentees. While skipper Rohit Sharma looks set to miss the series opener due to the birth of his son, Shubman Gill fractured his thumb during the 3-day simulation game against India A. India have some reserves in the form of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhimanyu Easwaran Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, etc. to choose from for the series opener, but which of these players will get the nod.

At the moment, India need a replacement each for Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. From the practice session visuals that have emerged on social media, it looks like Padikkal and Jurel will get the nod in the playing XI for the Perth Test.

From the practice session on Tuesday, the likes of Padikkal, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal could be seen fielding in the slip cordon. Jurel, who is a wicket-keeper batter by trait, could be spotted fielding in gully.

India’s slip cordon in the practice sessions!

Padikkal at first slip, Virat second, Rahul third slip, Jaiswal at gully while Dhruv Jurel is taking catches at silly-point! pic.twitter.com/ystbguTXMv

— IPLnCricket: Everything about Cricket (@IPLnCricket) November 19, 2024

From the fielding practice pictures we can almost confirm that Jurel and Padikkal in playing X1

In Slips:

1 :Padikkal

2:Kohli

3:Rahul

4:Jaiswal

Jurel at Gully,Pant (WK)

This will be top 6 for India in Perth

What’s your thoughts on this top 6?#INDvAUS #AUSvIND #BGT pic.twitter.com/K7iRamRmaa

— Sivadath V H (@SivadathH68311) November 19, 2024

A flying catch by Virat Kohli. pic.twitter.com/ky1InMNz9H

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 19, 2024

The names of Gaikwad and Easwaran were also discussed as potential replacements for the missing duo of Rohit and Gill. However, the team management seems to have made their choice and decided to go with Padikkal and Jurel for the opening Test. Of the duo, Jurel has arguably impressed the most in the practice games he has featured in since arriving in Australia.

Even against Australia A, Jurel was India’s top performer, scoring two half-centuries while batting in the middle order. However, with Rishabh Pant set to keep wickets, Jurel would need to play as a specialist batter in Perth.

Seasoned KL Rahul on Sunday batted at India nets, allaying concerns surrounding his fitness ahead of the first Test against Australia starting here at the Optus Stadium from November 22. It will be a big relief for the Indian team management as they are already grappling with the possible absence of injured Shubman Gill and skipper Rohit Sharma, who has been blessed with his second baby. Rahul had left the field for medical attention on Friday after sustaining a blow on his elbow by pacer Prasidh Krishna while batting in an intra-squad practice match at the WACA ground.

But on this day, the 32-year-old batted without any major discomfort and participated in all the drills during the three-hour net session and batted for a considerable time as well.

“He looks fine now, and the physio will continue to monitor him for the next few days to ensure that there is no discomfort,” a BCCI source informed PTI.

Rahul could open the innings at Perth as Gill is almost certain to miss the match because of a fractured thumb.

The Indian bowlers led by vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah too put in some hard yards at nets here.

The Indian team, meanwhile, finished the block of training at the WACA ground and the visitors will now move to the Optus Stadium for match drills from Tuesday, after a scheduled rest day on Monday.

Devdutt to stay back in Australia

Meanwhile, the Indian team management has decided to keep top-order batter Devdutt Padikkal in Australia as a batting back-up.

Devdutt was part of the India A squad that played two four-day matches against their Australia counterparts recently.

The left-hander, who was recently named in Karnataka’s squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, had lukewarm outings during the ‘A’ tour, making 36, 88, 26, 1.

Top-order B Sai Sudharsan, who made a hundred against Australia at Mackay in the first match, too may be asked to stay back as the India A squad, under Ruturaj Gaikwad, is scheduled to leave Australia on Monday.

“It is more to do with the familiarity with the Australian conditions as they have played here recently,” a source close to the development told PTI.

Devdutt had made his Test debut against England earlier this year at Dharamsala and made a 65 while batting at No. 4.

Sudharsan has played three ODIs against South Africa last year and one T20I against Zimbabwe in July this year.

With less than a week remaining for the start of the 1st Test against Australia, concerns surrounding India’s batting line-up in Perth continue to grow. With India captain Rohit Sharma‘s unlikely to feature in the series opener at the Optus Stadium, Shubman Gill, one of the contenders to replace him at the top, has reportedly suffered a fracture on his left, putting his participation for the game begining next Friday also in serious doubt. Rohit became a father on Friday, with his wife Ritika Sajdeh giving birth to their second child, a baby boy. With the Indian team already short of convincing options at the order, Gill’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time.

However, ESPNcricinfo has reported that India A batter Devdutt Padikkal has been asked to stay back with the team in Perth. However, it didn’t clarify whether Padikkal will be part of the main squad or the reserves. The Indian team arrived in Australia with three travelling reserves, all pacers.

“It has also been learnt that Devdutt Padikkal, who was part of the India A group in Australia, will stay back with the Test squad*. It could not be confirmed, however, if Padikkal will be part of the main squad or the reserves,” the report highlighted.

Padikkal was part of the India A squad for the series against Australia, and registered scores of 36, 88, 26 and 1 across four innings. He was set to return to India after being named in Karnataka’s squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Gill’s absence could be massive for the national team as he is not only a stable number three batter but in case of Rohit’s absence, he could be considered for opening the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal.

The other man in contention, Lokesh Rahul, has a bruised elbow after getting hit by a Prasidh Krishna short ball on the opening day of the intra-squad match and was forced to leave the field.

Rahul’s bruised area needed icing and he didn’t take the field on the second day of the match simulation on Saturday although it is being seen more as a precautionary measure.

In case Gill is absent, Abhimanyu Easwaran could be in line for his Test debut as India do not have too many options left.

Nonetheless, the Indian selectors will keep a close eye on Padikkal, who could feature on the final day of intra-squad simulation match on Sunday.