Australia vs India 2nd Test - Probable Playing XI and Key Players

Updated At: 2024/12/05

The Australia vs India Test series has reached the 2nd Test. It is scheduled to begin on 6th December at the Adelaide Oval. India is currently leading the Test series with a win in the 1st fixture at the Optus Stadium.

Team India scored a comfortable win in the previous and the onus of the win goes to the bowling unit. Skipper Jaspreet Bumrah led the team from the front in the first inning and then youngster Yashaswi Jaiswal unleashed hell and completely decimated the Australian bowling attack in the 2nd inning.

Experienced players like KL Rahul and Virat Kohli also made some major contributions to the scoreboard which gave them an advantage over the visitors. Australian batters need to step up their game for the 2nd Test in order to level the series. The match prediction talks about the details for both teams and the best odds.

Australia vs 2nd Test - Probable Playing XI

Australia

Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

Australia won’t be making many changes in their playing XI for the upcoming Test. However, skipper Pat Cummins will be having some tough discussions with the batting unit in order to motivate them to perform better.

Steven Smith and Travis Head have not played a positive inning this year and that showcases Australia’s vulnerability in the batting unit. The consecutive failure of Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne is also hurting the team at every step.

On the bowling attack, Australia will be dependent on Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, and Josh Hazlewood. Mitchell Starc has not been at his best in the 1st Test and hence he needs to push things hard in the 2nd Test.

India

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

Team India is coming to play after a win and hence their confidence will be at the highest. Skipper Rohit Sharma is coming back in action after missing out on the first Test. He has recently confirmed that KL Rahul will be opening the game for the team and he will be part of the middle order.

Shubman Gill has also recovered from his thumb fracture but considering the current form of Devdutt Padikkal, Gil might not get a chance to play in the 2nd Test. The rest of the batting combination is expected to be the same.

Nitish Reddy was the new face of the team in the previous who did a fabulous job as a lower-order batsman. In no way, team India will put him in the stands for the 2nd Test. The best betting apps in India will have the best odds in favour of Nitish Reddy.

Australia vs India 2nd Test - Key players

1) Yashaswi Jaiswal - India

Team India will be dependent on their young gun Yashaswi Jaiswal for a good start from the top. He turned out to be the leading run scorer in the 2nd inning of the 1st fixture with 161 off 297 balls at a strike rate of 54.21. With that inning, Jaiswal became the 2nd highest run-scorer in 2024.

Test Stats - 2024	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike Rate
Yashaswi Jaiswal	12	1280	58.18	72.52

2) Alex Carey - Australia

Australia’s batting unit has not been in the right form this year. The team is dependent on Alex Carey for the majority of runs and he is the only batter who carries an average of above 30 this year. Rest all the batters have been a complete failure and Cary will play a crucial role for the team in the 2nd Test.

Test Stats - 2024	Matches	Runs	Average	Strike Rate
Alex Carey	6	302	33.55	72.42

3) Jasprit Bumrah - India

The Indian pace star, Jasprit Bumrah, scalped 8 wickets in the 1st Test and became the leading wicket-taker in the Test format in 2024. His yorkers are unplayable and considering the fast Australian pitches, Bumrah will again dominate the Indian bowling attack in the 2nd Test.

Test Stats - 2024	Matches	Wickets	Average	Economy
Jasprit Bumrah	10	49	15.24	3.04

4) Josh Hazlewood - Australia

Even if the rest of the bowling unit of Australia was a failure, Josh Hazlewood came out as the saviour for the team on multiple occasions. He scalped 5 wickets in the previous game and was the most economical bowler for the team.

Test Stats - 2024	Matches	Wickets	Average	Economy
Josh Hazlewood	6	34	13.35	2.49