The first Test of the highly anticipated series between Australia and India has begun with the Australian skipper Pat Cummins winning the toss and opting to bat first. The match takes place in Nagpur, where a turning pitch is expected, leading the tourists to give off-spinner Todd Murphy his international debut. The Australian team also includes Peter Handscomb, who replaces Travis Head.
For India, batsman Suryakumar Yadav and wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat are making their Test debut, with both players’ families in attendance.
The Indian team consists of three spinners and two seamers, with skipper Rohit Sharma stating he would have also chosen to bat first on the “pretty dry” pitch.
Ravindra Jadeja is back in the team after recovering from a knee injury.
The full lineups for both teams are listed in the article.
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Srikar Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (capt), Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Scott Boland
