It is the Christmas season and what preferable present over the snapping challenge among India and Australia on the Boxing Day. The Boxing Day, the day post-Christmas Day, started in the United Kingdom and commended generally in the nations that were essential for British pilgrim rule. What’s more, when we talk about the Boxing Day, the vigorous cricket fans would not discover trouble connecting it with the Melbourne Test coordinate. It has gotten practically like a custom of Melbourne Cricket Ground to have a Test Match on the Boxing Day.
Australia started with an emphatic win at Adelaide Oval. Both teams now go to Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test on 26 December 2020 with series levelled at 1-0. While Australia are likely to play an unchanged team for this match, India included Shubman Gill, Rishab Pant and Mohammed Siraj.
Pitch Report
The pitch in Melbourne has equally favored the batsmen and the bowlers in the past. In the previous two Tests, teams batting first have posted 400+ totals in the 1st innings.
Weather Conditions
The skies in Melbourne will be clear for the first and the third days. There are forecasts for downpour on Sunday night in Melbourne. Nonetheless, there ought not be any downpour interferences since it’s anything but a day/night experience.
The temperature will float around 22 degrees Celsius across the five days, with the dampness levels expected to be 55%.
India
India were contending well in the first test match until that wretched showcase in the subsequent innings so they should defeat the mental effect from being bowled out for 36 where no batsmen arrived at twofold figures.
Their errand has gotten much harder by the absence of captain Virat Kohli while Mohammed Shami has been precluded in the wake of being struck on the arm.
India have made the change by bringing in Shubman Gill for Prithvi Shaw and the two forced changes as Ravindra Jadeja comes in for Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj for Mohammed Shami.
India (Playing XI): Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Australia
It has been confirmed that they will be without David Warner for the 2nd Test match as well so they will open with Joe Burns and Matthew Wade and the runs that Joe Burns managed in the second innings will go a long way to boosting his confidence after a sturdy run.
The probability is that they will go on with an unchanged line-up given how well they played, their strong bowling attack was not worn out so they will be fresh and eager to go yet again.
Australia (Likely XI) – Joe Burns, Mathew Wade, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Tim Paine(c/wk), Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood.
Boxing Day Test matches are always exciting and we would wish for a similar one this time. The initial Test of this series was stuffed with dramatization and now all the weight is on the India coming into this second match at the MCG without Virat Kohli.
Alongside his nonattendance, Mohammed Shami is likewise down and out and that will make their errand considerably harder in Melbourne. Australia will be floated by that exhibition in the initial Test and keeping in mind that there were a couple of question marks over their batting.
18prajakta 