Australia tour of India Archives

Smith to lead Australia in India ODIs, Warner returns

NEW DELHI: Steve Smith will lead Australia in the upcoming one-day international series against India as David Warner returns to the side after recovering from an elbow injury, selectors said Tuesday.

The three-match series beginning Friday will give the Australians more useful practice on local wickets ahead of the ODI World Cup in India later this year.

Smith will stand in for Pat Cummins, who returned home after leading Australia in the first two Test matches to care for his ailing mother who died last week.

The visitors lost the series 2-1 — the fourth straight defeat to India — with the last match in Ahmedabad ending in a draw on Monday.

Star batsman Warner played in the first two Tests but returned to Australia after a blow to the head and injuring his elbow.

He was due to rejoin the squad in Mumbai on Tuesday following “two final rehabilitation sessions on his elbow”, Cricket Australia said.

Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Sean Abbott, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa, Josh Inglis, Ashton Agar and Nathan Ellis — coming in for Jhye Richardson — arrived in India on Friday and trained in Ahmedabad.

Squad:

Steve Smith (capt), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

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Ton-up Khawaja steers Australia to 255-4 in 4th India Test

AHMEDABAD: Opener Usman Khawaja struck the first century of the series by an Australian batsman as the tourists reached 255-4 on Thursday’s opening day of the fourth Test against India.

The left-handed Khawaja, batting on 104, put on key stands including a 79-run third-wicket partnership with skipper Steve Smith, who made 38, to hand Australia a strong start.

After a long grind, Khawaja was batting alongside Cameron Green, on 49, at close of play after Australia elected to bat at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.

The Pakistan-born Khawaja jumped up in joy after he raised the second hundred of a low-scoring series with a boundary in the final over of the day.

India skipper Rohit Sharma hit 120 in the opener, but is now second to the Australian opener, who leads the series batting chart with 257 runs.

Green remained the attacking partner in an unbeaten 85-run partnership with Khawaja that once again stamped Australia’s dominance despite two wickets in the final session.

Travis Head started aggressively and made 32 in a 61-run opening partnership with Khawaja before India hit back with two wickets in the first session.

Khawaja and stand-in-skipper Smith got down to hard work after lunch to wear down the Indian bowlers on a pitch that looks good for batting.

Ravindra Jadeja bowled Smith after the left-arm spinner’s delivery skidded off the turf to get the batsman’s inside and onto the stumps.

Mohammed Shami got his second wicket after bowling Peter Handscomb, but Khawaja kept up the hard work.

Pace spearhead Shami started the match with a wide and Khawaja soon got a boundary.

The pitches in the first three Tests were rank turners, with the highest total being India’s 400 in the opening match.

The left-handed Head took charge to hit a flurry of boundaries including three in one over from pace bowler Umesh Yadav.

Head survived a reprieve on seven when wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat dropped a simple catch off Yadav and the opener added 25 more before being dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin.

Khawaja attempted to build another partnership, but Shami got Marnus Labuschagne for three, with a delivery that came in and rattled the stumps.

– Modi, Albanese present –

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese were in attendance for the first hour of play at the 132,000-capacity stadium, named after the Indian premier.

A bumper crowd greeted the two leaders before focus turned to cricket as Smith won the toss and named an unchanged XI from their previous win in Indore that kept the series alive at 2-1.

India need a win to clinch the series and secure their berth in the World Test Championship final, scheduled for June at The Oval in London.

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Maxwell, Marsh return from injury as Australia name squad for India ODIs

SYDNEY: Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh are set to return from their injuries when Australia play three One-Day internationals in India next month.

Australia named a strong 16-member squad for the ODI series on Thursday which included all-rounders Maxwell (broken leg) and Marsh (ankle injury) following their lengthy layoffs due to injuries.

Pacer Jhye Richardson has also returned to the side from a hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, David Warner, who left for the country midway through the ongoing Test tour in India, has also been named in the ODI squad.

Josh Hazlewood, however, will miss the ODI tour with the Achilles injury that forced him out of the Test series.

Pat Cummins will continue to lead Australia in India during the white-ball series as well, with experienced batters Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne also included in the squad.

According to chief selector George Bailey, the series will be important to prepare Australia for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup that is scheduled to take place in India later this year,

“With the World Cup just over seven months away, these matches in India are an important step in our preparation,” Bailey said.

“Glenn, Mitchell and Jhye are all important players in what we think the squad might look like come October.”

The ODI series between Australia and India will commence on March 17 in Mumbai before the remaining two matches in Vizag and Chennai on March 19 and 22, respectively.

Australia ODI squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

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Injured Warner ruled out of India tour as Australia problems grow

SYDNEY: Australia opening batsman David Warner will return home from India and miss the last two Tests after an elbow fracture and concussion, Cricket Australia said Tuesday.

It is the second injury blow in two days for struggling Australia, who are 2-0 down in the four-Test series.

Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was sent home Monday after failing to recover from an Achilles tendon injury.

Warner was hit on the helmet shortly after being struck on the elbow on the opening day of the second Test defeat in Delhi. He was replaced by concussion substitute Matt Renshaw.

Warner, who scored just 26 runs as Australia lost both of the opening two matches, will miss the third and fourth Tests at Indore and Ahmedabad but it is hoped he can return for the subsequent one-day series.

“David Warner has been ruled out of the Test tour of India and will return home,” a Cricket Australia statement said.

“After further assessment, he will require a period of rehabilitation which will preclude any further involvement in the remainder of the Test series.

“It is currently anticipated that he will return to India for the three one-day internationals which follow the Test series.”

Australia captain Pat Cummins has also flown home because of a family illness but is expected to return in time for the third Test, which starts on March 1.

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Jadeja stars as India hammer Australia to take 2-0 Test series lead

NEW DELHI: India spinner Ravindra Jadeja on Sunday returned career-best figures of 7-42 to help India take an unbeatable 2-0 Test series lead with a six-wicket thrashing of Australia inside three days of a dramatic match.

Jadeja, a left-arm orthodox bowler, teamed up with fellow spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to dismiss Australia for 113 in a morning session when the tourists’ batting imploded, thanks to overusing the sweep shot on a tricky New Delhi pitch.

The hosts romped to their victory target of 115 in the second session, guaranteeing that they retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy in the four-match series.

They have won their previous three series against Australia and are now close to securing a spot in the World Test Championship final.

India lost skipper Rohit Sharma, run out after a fluent 31, and Virat Kohli, who surpassed 25,000 international runs during his innings, stumped on 20.

Nathan Lyon took two wickets to return a match-haul of seven.

Cheteshwar Pujara stood firm with 31 in his landmark 100th Test to steer his team home with a winning four, as wicketkeeper-batsman Srikar Bharat, unbeaten on 23, looked on.

“We were prepared for them coming out and playing shots,” Rohit said of his team’s bowling plan.

“Our idea was to not panic and just hit the right areas, waiting for the mistake to happen, and that’s exactly what happened.”

He added: “So our focus was keeping it tight in the morning, and these guys (Jadeja and Ashwin) are the masters of bowling in these conditions.”

Australia, who also lost the opening Test inside three days, crashed from their overnight 61-1 to be bowled out in 31.1 overs, after losing nine wickets for 52 runs in just over 90 minutes of mayhem.

Jadeja improved on his previous Test best of 7-48, adding to the three he took in the first innings. Ashwin grabbed the remaining three in the Australian second innings.

Off-spinner Ashwin struck in the first over of the day to get Travis Head caught behind for 43, three balls after the left-hander hit a boundary to add to his overnight score.

‘This loss hurts’

Marnus Labuschagne attempted to take the attack to the opposition with the paddle shot and the reverse sweep, but was bowled by Jadeja for 35.

David Warner’s concussion substitute Matt Renshaw looked clueless against spin in his eight balls at the crease, before he missed an attempted sweep, giving Ashwin another lbw.

Wickets fell like nine-pins and Lyon narrowly averted a Jadeja hat-trick. The bowler kept up the charge to wrap up the Australian innings, which started on a promising note near the end of day two.

“Everyone controls their own game, some balls just have your name,” skipper Pat Cummins said on the overuse of the sweep. “But we need a review on the shot choice.

“Both games were disappointing, this one in particular,” he added. “We were ahead in the game and that doesn’t happen often in India. This loss hurts.”

Man of the match Jadeja said the sweep shot was “not a good option” against him on this pitch, which saw low bounce.

Axar Patel set up victory with his counter-attacking 74 on Saturday, lifting India from a precarious 139-7 to just one short of Australia’s first-innings total.

The left-hander put on a key 114-run eighth-wicket stand with Ashwin to turn the tables on Australia, who kept coming back with Lyon leading the bowling charge.

Lyon returned figures of 5-67 with his off-spin and was supported by fellow spinners Todd Murphy and debutant Matthew Kuhnemann — both of whom took two each.

The third match will be played in Indore from March 1.

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Australia surprise with Murphy, Handscomb in Test squad for India

SYDNEY: Rising star Todd Murphy was Wednesday included in Australia’s Test squad for their India tour as a potential spin partner to Nathan Lyon, while veteran batsman Peter Handscomb was recalled.

Australia will take four spinners for the four-Test series in Nagpur, Delhi, Dharamsala and Ahmedabad in February-March with Mitchell Swepson also getting the nod along with Ashton Agar.

Allrounder Cameron Green and pace spearhead Mitchell Starc were both named in expectation of their returns from injury. Uncapped quick Lance Morris was retained in the squad as a back-up.

Opener Marcus Harris, who was in the squad for their last Test against South Africa in Sydney last week, missed out.

“After a successful home summer the squad is excited by the challenge a Test tour to the subcontinent provides,” said chairman of selectors George Bailey.

“We have selected a squad that provides the depth and flexibility required to adapt depending on the conditions we may encounter.”

Bailey said the combination of left and right-hand batters, four specialist spinners and six fast bowlers, including Green, offered options in varying settings.

Murphy, 22, was favoured over white-ball specialist spinner Adam Zampa after strong performances for Victoria and Australia A over the past 12 months, with selectors eyeing him as a long-term replacement for veteran Lyon.

“Todd Murphy has progressed quickly having impressed in domestic cricket and recently with Australia A. With those performances Todd has emerged as a strong spin option,” said Bailey.

“Selection in this squad also provides another opportunity to spend time alongside Nathan Lyon and assistant coach Daniel Vettori in India which will be invaluable to his development.”

Handscomb, who has played 16 Tests, has been in fine touch in the domestic Sheffield Shield and was recalled for the first time since 2019, joining Matthew Renshaw as reserve batters.

“Peter Handscomb deserves his place back in the squad. His domestic form has been strong recently and Pete has proven he can perform at Test level,” said Bailey.

“His experience against spin on the subcontinent is valuable and he is also an exceptionally good close to the wicket catcher.”

Australia leave for India in early February.

Test squad: Pat Cummins (capt), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.

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