Australia Tour of India 2023: India vs Australia – 3rd Test Preview and Updates

Cricket

After an unusual 10-day break between series, India and Australia will play the third test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 on March 1st at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. The game is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. By defeating Australia in the second test, India has retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy for the third time in a row. India now leads the series 2-0 after a 6-wicket victory in Delhi.

Australia scored 263 runs in the first innings of the test, led by opener Usman Khwaja (81) and middle-order batter Peter Handscomb (72). Mohammed Shami took four wickets for 60 runs, while spinners Jadeja and Ashwin each took three. For the first time in this series, Australia demonstrated some intent by taking 7 Indian wickets on 139. Nathan Lyon went five for 67. However, Axar Patel and Ashwin turned the tide in India’s favour with a 114-run eighth-wicket stand. Axar scored fifty points from the Indian side for a total of 262.

With a one-run lead, Australia sent back Travis Head as a concussion replacement for Warner. Except for Head (43) and Labuschagne, no other batter reached double figures (35). This time, Ravindra Jadeja took 7 wickets. India won their third consecutive test against Australia, chasing the target with four wickets down. Jadeja was named Man of the Match after taking 10 wickets and scoring 26 runs.

Aside from the third consecutive victory, India won the Border Gavaskar Trophy for the third time. India is now undefeated in five home test series against Australia. Australia hasn’t won a test series here in 18 years.

In the third test, Australia will be without David Warner and skipper Pat Cummins. In the first inning, Warner suffered an elbow fracture. He is no longer a part of the series. Cummins, on the other hand, has taken time off due to a family emergency. Cameroon Green and Mitchell Starc have both been named to the squad.

The 3rd Test between India vs Australia will take place on March 1st, 2023 at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore.

Match Details to Note

Match: India vs Australia, 3rd Test, Australia Tour of India 2023

Date: March 01, 2023 (Wednesday)

Time: 9:30 AM IST

Venue: Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore

India vs Australia

India (Match Odds – 1.22):

Preview:

The inclusion of KL Rahul in the squad has created quite a stir. Rahul has scored 175 runs in the last 11 innings, averaging less than 16. However, Rohit Sharma will continue to prefer Rahul over Gill to open the innings. With 183 runs, Sharma is the series’ leading run-scorer. Despite his poor performance in the two tests at Inore, he averages 71.96 in India, with eight centuries and six half-centuries.

Cheteshwar Pujara will share the third spot with Virat Kohli. Pujara played his 100th test at Delhi, going unbeaten for 31 runs in the second innings. In three innings at Indore, he scored a century and a half-century. Despite the fact that the stars aren’t aligning for Virat Kohli after the way he was dismissed in the first innings, he has scored a double-century at this venue. He is our pick for the top batter in the third test, with an average of 76.

In the current playing eleven, India has the most lethal all-rounder trio. Ravindra Jadeja (World Rank 1), Ravi Ashwin (World Rank 2 – bowler and all-rounder), and Axar Patel (World Rank 5) have caused Australia problems with both bat and ball. While Ashwin (17) and Jadeja (14) have each taken 31 wickets in the first two tests, Patel has both produced match-winning half-centuries. Patel leads the team in run scoring with 158. Ashwin now has 103 wickets in 20 tests against Australia. Aside from that, he averages 12.5 at Indore and has 18 wickets in two tests. He is our pick for the best bowler.

India’s pace attack will be led by Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. Every Indian bowler in the current squad has averaged less than 20 in home tests since 2017. Pacers will be crucial in the third test as well. Since 2017, Indian pacers have taken 180 wickets, while spinners have taken 317. However, Shami’s strike rate is higher in top gear.

Full Squad:

Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Srikar Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav

Players to watch out for:

Virat Kohli

The right-handed former skipper looked in fine form before losing a close decision in the last game. He was also the fastest player to reach 25,000 international runs.

Ravichandran Ashwin

The off-spin bowling all-rounder has taken at least three wickets in every innings of this series so far and looks dangerous whenever he enters the field.

Ravindra Jadeja

After impressing with both bat and ball in the First Test, the left-arm spinner recorded his best Test figures of 7-42 in the Second Test’s second innings.

Possible Playing XI:

KS Bharath (wk), KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami

Australia (Match Odds – 4.30):

Preview:

The Australian team’s situation has deteriorated. For the third test, they will be without Warner and Cummins. Thank goodness they have Mitchell Starc and Cameroon Green to fill in for them. Head will most likely begin with Khwaja. In the first innings of the second test, Khwaja scored 81 runs. Marnus Labuschagne will be our pick for Australia’s top batter. Despite not scoring much in the first two tests, Labuschagne has been consistent with 119 runs, the most by an Australian batter.

Green will be joined in the middle order by Steve Smith, Peter Handscomb, and Alex Carrey. Smith has been dismissed three times by Ashwin. However, his average in India is still 60, making him one of the guys to watch. No one can bat long below Handscomb and Carrey, so they must keep their wickets. Cameroon Green will make his comeback after breaking his thumb in the previous test series. There is one thing that Australians must remember. Stop playing sweep shots after 5 of them were bowled while attempting to sweep Jadeja.

In the previous game, Australia used three spinners and one pacer. Because spinners took 13 of 14 Indian wickets, stand-in skipper Steve Smith is likely to do the same. Nathan Lyon has 102 wickets in 24 tests against India, 49 of which have come in India in 9 tests. He will undoubtedly lead the pack. Green will be needed to assist Starc in bowling those extra overs.

Full Squad:

Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matt Renshaw, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Matthew Kuhnemann

Players to watch out for:

Steve Smith

The middle order batter will reclaim the captaincy he lost in South Africa last year. As captain, his Test batting average rises to 67.73.

Mitchell Starc

Despite not being fully recovered from a finger injury, the left-arm pace bowler will make his first appearance of the tour. With his speed and left-arm angle, he has real wicket-taking ability.

Nathan Lyon

The off-spinner was back to his best in the Second Test, and with a few more runs, Australia could have won.

Possible Playing XI:

Travis Head Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Cameroon Green, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Tod Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc

India vs Australia Top Team Batsmen

Our batting lineup for India includes Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Cheteshwar Pujara. Sharma led the charge in the second innings in Delhi and has looked at ease against Australia’s quick bowlers. Pujara scored the winning runs in his 100th Test, and he averages 44.07 in this format.

Our batting picks for India are Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, and Travis Head. In the first innings of the Second Test in Delhi, Khawaja scored 81 runs. Head batted aggressively at the top of the order in the second innings of the previous game and appears more at ease as the series’ opener.

India vs Australia Top Team Bowlers

With the ball, we support Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Shami for India. Ashwin takes wickets and restricts runs. He is particularly effective for India in home Tests. Jadeja has a 17.23 bowling average in 14 Tests against Australia.

Our bowling selections for Australia are Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, and Todd Murphy. Starc has 588 international wickets and over 300 Test dismissals to his name. Murphy was not as effective as he was in the first Test, but he still caused problems for India’s batters.

India vs Australia Head to Head

Although Australia leads the overall head-to-head series 43-32, they have not won any of the last five Tests between the two countries, a run that includes tests in both India and Australia.

India vs Australia Head to Head Stats in Tests

	Matches Played	IND Won	AUS Won	Tie	Draw
Overall	104	32	43	1	28
Last 5	5	4	1	0	0

India vs Australia Toss Prediction

In each of the two Tests, the result is divided equally between the teams batting first and second. The team has frequently defended targets in ODIs and T20Is. The team that wins the toss bats first.

India vs Australia Pitch Report

The third Test will begin at 9:30 a.m. on March 1st at the Holkar International Stadium in Indore. The venue has a capacity of 30000 spectators and has previously hosted 2 Tests, 6 ODIs, and 3 T20Is. At this venue, Virender Sehwag scored his second ODI double century. At this venue, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have the most runs as a partnership. Against New Zealand, the pair added 365 runs for the fifth wicket.

The sky will be mostly clear. The temperature will range between 18 and 33 degrees Celsius. The wind will be blowing at 9-15 km/h from the west. In the first two innings, the pitch favours batters. Pacers have an even bounce. The shorter boundaries make scoring runs easier.

India vs Australia Prediction

With back-to-back victories over Australia, Team India is riding high. They have already won the Border Gavaskar Trophy, and their ultimate goal will be to comfortably qualify for the WTC Final. In the last five tests against Australia, India has won four and drawn one. They haven’t lost a home Test in the last two years. Indian bowlers have taken all 40 Australian batter wickets. Since 2017, they have had an average of less than 20 at home. Check out the odds at Cricbaba!

India is the favourite to beat Australia at the odds of 1.22.