India earned a crucial 1-0 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, following a dominating show in the first Test against Australia. Rohit Sharma and Co. will try to carry on the momentum when they square off against Australia for the second game on February 17 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi. On the other hand, the visitors will eye to turn the table around and keep their hope alive in the four-match series.
India’s spinner duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja stole the show in the earlier Nagpur Test. Jadeja finished the match with seven wickets while Ashwin wrapped up with eight wickets under his belt. The Indian bowlers were more dangerous on the third day which saw the Australian batting unit giving up early in front of the hosts. The India spinners are expected to emulate their performance in the upcoming game as the pitch in Delhi will likely be a spinner-friendly one.
Pitch Report:
The pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium has always been heaven for spinners. Though the track will come in handy for bowlers, the team batting first will get some assistance. Hence, the toss will play a key role in the Delhi Test. According to the previous records at the venue, the average score in the first innings is 342, while the average fourth-innings total is only 165. India have clashed against Australia in seven Tests beforehand at the venue. Among them, the home side has the superior record with three victories, while Australia managed to win just one and the remaining three ended in a draw.
Weather report
Delhi weather is predicted to be mostly clear during the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Thus, it is highly unlikely that the rain will play a spoilsport at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The wind speed is expected to be around 6-8 km/h during the five-day play, while the temperature could hover from 15 degrees Celsius to 31 degrees Celsius. The days will be quite warmer and the humidity is expected to be around 75-80 per cent.
Probable Playing XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Srikar Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami.
Australia: Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey (wk), Peter Handscomb, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Todd Murphy and Nathan Lyon.
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