Six years after one of the greatest Test series in India between the two sides Australia come back. They lost the last three Border Gavaskar Trophies and come in with the heat on. Line-up wise though, Australia may feel silently confident. With Steve Smith’s record in India, and Marnus Labuschagne going well, the batting line-up they have now could be better than the one that they had in 2017, which speaks volumes. Concerns though are with Cameron Green’s fitness, and their second spinner, which could be a point of exploitation for India. injuries to Starc and Hazlewood see them with another concern.

India’s last Test defeat at home came to England in Chennai in 2021. Before that they lost to Australia at Pune in 2017. They are monsters at home and with Ravindra Jadeja back to join Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s spin twins remain the biggest threat for their opposition. With Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav are in great form too, and are good at home leaving, while India’s pace attack completes what looks like a really threatening bowling unit. With the bat though, there are concerns. Pujara did well in Bangladesh, but is still inconsistent, while Virat Kohli’s Test form has been poor recently. With Pant out though, both will have a huge task on hand as they look to fill the Pant hole.

IND vs AUS Match Details

Date: February 9th 2023

Time:  9:30 PM IST

Venue: Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur

IND vs AUS Weather Report

The Weather at Nagpur is pretty good for the upcoming game.

IND vs AUS Pitch Report

A dry track particularly on one of the ends is expected at Nagpur. Spin will be in abundance with the ball likely to take turn soon.

IND vs AUS head-to-Head

Played- 102 | India-30 | Australia- 43 | Draw- 28 | Tie- 1

IND vs AUS Predicted Playing XI

Australia Playing XI

Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar/Cameron Green, Pat Cummins, Scott Boland, Todd Murphy, Nathan Lyon

India Playing XI

Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul/Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj/Axar Patel

IND vs AUS Key Players

Steve Smith

No player put fear into the Indian Team as Steve Smith can. His record against India, and his scores in the last visit were incredible as he alone kept the side in the series with the bat. Three centuries in the last tour and an incredible ability against spin make him a key part in the series. His battle with Ravichandran Ashwin in particular could decide the series.

Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin had the better of both Steve Smith and the Australian time in Australia a couple years ago. At home, India do not need to look beyond him for results. With his partner in crime, Jadeja back, Ashwin will be all the more dangerous in the upcoming games and his performance will be the difference in the series.

See Also: IND vs AUS: Todd Murphy set to make test debut – Cricket Winner

IND vs AUS Match Tips

India vs Australia contests of late have been very unpredictable. While Australia are competitive though, predicting and Indian defeat in Test Cricket at home seems very tough.

Match Prediction: India Will Win the Match