India vs Australia, IND vs AUS, Today Match Prediction 17 February 2023

ind vs aus Match Prediction & Analysis

After an easy game at Nagpur, Rohit Sharma’s India will take on Australia in the second test at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on February 17th from 9:30 am. India have taken the lead of 1-0 in the four test match series with a victory by innings and 132 runs at Nagpur. The test will be marked as the 100th Test of the Indian top-order batter Cheteshwar Pujara. 

Australia won the toss in the first Test and opted to bat first. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who was making his comeback after a gap of 8 months, took his 11th five-for by breaking the entire Australian middle order. Labuschagne was only the standout guy from the Australian camp with his 49 runs playing 123 deliveries. Ravi Ashwin also claimed his 450th test wicket by surprising Alex Carrey behind his legs.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma finally scored his most awaited Test century. Rohit scored 120 runs with 15 fours and 2 sixes. Australia then suffered from the heroic batting of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Both left-handers scored half-centuries to take India to 400. Debutant Tod Murphy took 7 wickets for 124 runs. With a lead of 223 runs, India dominated Australia in the third innings. It was Ravi Ashwin this time, who took 5 wickets to clear Australian batters for just 91 runs. 

With the win, India bettered their chances to qualify for the World Test Championship Final for the consecutive time. They also become the rank one Test team by toppling down Australia. They are now the number-one team across all formats. What a time to achieve this feat and go into the second Test, where they haven’t lost a test since 1987. It makes them the obvious choice to win the Test.

TEAMS PREVIEW

India Preview

Rohit Sharma will likely open with KL Rahul once again. Sharma has centuries in the last two innings (one against New Zealand in the ODI and one in the first Test). He now averages over 75 in 31 innings he played in India with 8 centuries and 6 half-centuries. In the last 10 innings, he has scored just one fifty. But 6 half centuries in the 8 innings of the last Border Gavaskar Trophy in India will give him enough leverage over Shubman Gill, who is having a terrific run with the bat. Virat Kohli is returning to his home ground after a gap of 6 years. Kohli has the most runs at Delhi. He has scored 467 runs in 6 innings, including a double hundred. 

Cheteshwar Pujara will be playing his 100th Test. Only 4 batters have played more deliveries in Tests since Pujara made his debut. In his career, he has contributed to 30.6% of the runs his team scored and 33.4% of balls played. Shreyas Iyer is in contention to replace Suryakumar Yadav in the squad if declared fit. With Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin, and Axar Patel, India has batting depth till number 9. And don’t forget Shami’s contribution of 36 runs in the first Test.

It was the three spinners and two seamers' strategy for India in the first Test. It looks like they will stick to the plan. Ravi Ashwin has 27 wickets in 4 tests at Delhi. After claiming his 31st five-for, Ashwin has now jumped to number two in the bowler’s ranking. He also has 97 wickets against Australia in 19 Tests. On the other hand, the world's number one all-rounder Jadeja has 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries in his last 4 tests, with bat and 17 wickets with the ball. Mohammed Shami and Siraj will lead the pace attack.

Key Players: Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja.

India Predicted Playing XI:

KS Bharath (wk), KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shreyas Iyer/Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami.

India Actual Playing XI:

Mohammed Siraj, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Cheteshwar Pujara, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel

Australia Preview

It will be a hard battle for Australia in Delhi. Warner, Smith, and Lyon are the only players from the current squad with experience playing a Test in Delhi. Usman Khwaja and Warner will open for Australia. Khawaja is Australia’s leading run scorer in the current WTC cycle, but he averages below 28 against India in Tests. Marnus Labuschagne looked pretty confident in the first Test. Labuschagne has scored 530 runs against India in 11 innings.  

Steve Smith will be our choice for the top batter from Australia. Smith averages 72.16 against India in 15 tests with 8 centuries and 5 half-centuries. With almost one 50-plus score per test, Smith has the best average (60.16) amongst the Australian players in India. Australia missed Travis Head in the first Test, as Peter Handscomb didn’t add much with the bat. Hopefully, they will prefer Head over Hands in the second test, with the chances of Cameron Green getting back looking slim.

Debutant Tod Murphy caught everyone’s eye with his scintillating performance on the first test. Murphy took 7 wickets for 124. The spin-friendly wickets have forced Australia to add Matthew Kuhnemann to the team. Nathan Lyon is our choice for the top bowler. Lyon was unlucky with 4 dropped catches on his bowling. But WTC’s leading wicket-taker (63) has 9 wickets at Delhi in the only test he played. World number one bowler Pat Cummins will be looking forward to collab with Mitchell Starc, who missed the first test.

Key Players: Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Pat Cummins

Australia Predicted Playing XI:

David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Tod Murphy, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc.

Australia Actual Playing XI:

Marnus Labuschagne, Pat Cummins, Matthew Kuhnemann, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey, Nathan Lyon, Steven Smith, Usman Khawaja, Todd Murphy, David Warner, Travis Head

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather will be mostly sunny. The temperature will range between 14 and 31°C. The wind will be flowing from the west at 5-10 kmh. The pitch favors batters and spinners equally. With only two tests drawn in the last 13 tests played here, the result is expected with the team having better spinners.

Venue Details

The 2nd Test will be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on February 17th from 9:30 am. The venue holds a capacity of 48000 spectators and has hosted 36 Tests, 28 ODIs & 13 T20Is so far. West Indies has registered the highest total of 644 runs at this venue, while India has the lowest (75). Since 1987-88, India haven’t lost a test at this venue. The venue is famous for Anil Kumble’s 10 wickets for 74 against Pakistan.

Toss: To Bowl

In all 36 Tests, the result favored the team batting second on 13 occasions, twice as the team batting first. Even though the average first innings score at this venue is better than the second innings, the turning conditions make it very difficult for teams to bat in the third innings. The team winning the toss should bowl first.