'We certainly get more excited than nervous looking at lively pitches. We understand that we have a bowling attack that can bowl out the opposition now. I hope no more grass is taken off it. We as a team are pretty happy with that,' said a confident Virat Kohli ahead of the second Test against Australia in Perth
Perth: An exciting battle is set to unfold between fast bowlers on a green pitch as India and Australia face off in the second Test here from Friday.
India hold a 1-0 advantage in the four-Test series after their historic 31-run win in Adelaide. Now, Virat Kohli and his men, undaunted by a lively 22-yard strip, will continue the good work.
Also read: India vs Australia series schedule
"We certainly get more excited than nervous looking at lively pitches. We understand that we have a bowling attack that can bowl out the opposition now. I hope no more grass is taken off it. We as a team are pretty happy with that," said a confident Kohli at the pre-match press conference on Thursday.
"We just have to challenge ourselves as a batting unit and play positively, backing the bowlers to do what they did at Adelaide as well. I think this pitch is going to offer significantly more than it did at Adelaide. That is something we are very excited about,” he added.
Curator Brett Sipthorpe is trying to produce the 'bounciest' pitch he can and that could very well work in India's favour as the visitors aim to take a 2-0 lead in the four-Test series.
Also read: 'Bounciest' pitch in Perth for 2nd Test
India’s pacemen have delivered the goods on overseas tours and Perth’s new stadium provides another opportunity to excel. Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, who took all 20 Australian wickets in Adelaide, will enjoy bowling in Perth.
India are forced to change their playing XI with Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma ruled out due to injuries. They have named a 13-man squad, including Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja along with Hanuma Vihari.
Vihari is expected to replace Rohit while it is still not clear whether India will go in with an all-seam attack.
Australian pace attack too will enjoy the conditions. Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are set to be part of an unchanged bowling attack along with spinner Nathan Lyon.
The squads
India (13 players): Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.
Other squad players: Parthiv Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma.
Australia (expected 11): Tim Paine (captain and wicketkeeper), Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood.
Other squad players: Mitchell Marsh, Peter Siddle.
Match starts at 7.50 am IST
(With inputs from PTI)
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