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MELBOURNE: Head coach Justin Langer said the mark of a great team was to keep winning as he threw down a challenge to Australia on Thursday against a depleted India desperate to restore pride in the second Test this week.
Australia head into the Boxing Day clash on Saturday at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on a high after crushing the visitors by eight wickets inside three days in the opening Test at Adelaide.
The dramatic victory at the Adelaide Oval was built on the back of devastating spells from pace spearheads Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, who skittled India in the second innings for their lowest Test score of 36.
Langer said it was an incredible effort, and he wants to see it repeated.
“I’ve said that to become a great team we have got to get better at winning after we win. Really good teams keep winning and winning … it’s an area that we have addressed,” he said. “We need to start well on Boxing Day morning and then be consistent because India, we know, will fight back, as we saw in the first two days of the Test match in Adelaide.” .
With star opener David Warner again ruled out with a groin injury, Langer said Australia would stick with the same XI, barring last-minute issues.
That means the under-pressure Joe Burns retains his spot as opener after a handy 51 not out in Adelaide, with Matthew Wade again moving up the order to accompany him, while all-rounder Cameron Green earns his second cap.
“I’d be a pretty courageous man to change the XI for this Test match after the last one,” said Langer. “So at this stage, unless something happens over the next few days, and it can happen in the world we live in, we’ll go in with the same XI, I’d say.”
India have far more selection dilemmas, with captain Virat Kohli missing the final three Tests for the birth of his first child.
Either the experienced K.L. Rahul or the uncapped Shubman Gill are tipped to take his place at number four, while Ajinkya Rahane assumes the captaincy.
Although India haven’t officially confirmed it, star paceman Mohammed Shami is also expected to be absent after reportedly fracturing his wrist after being hit by a Cummins thunderbolt in Adelaide.
It means they will be without two of their first-choice bowlers, with Ishant Sharma still injured.
The setback opens the door for either Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj or Thangarasu Natarajan, none of whom have played at Test level, to step in as the third seamer alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav.
Langer said Kohli’s no-show at the MCG was great news for Australia.
“Virat Kohli is one of the all-time great players and Shami I think is a real glue for the Indian bowling attack, because he’s so miserly, he’s very, very skilful,” he said. “So of course it gives us an advantage. But we just know we have to keep working hard in the all the processes we’ve been talking about for some time.@
Kohli pointed to his team, before heading home, being too timid with the bat against Cummins, Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc in their second innings collapse last week, and also rued a slew of dropped catches.
But he expressed confidence the team would bounce back in Melbourne where 30,000 fans will be allowed each day, around one third capacity under coronavirus restrictions.
His sentiments were supported by former Test captain and chief national selector Kris Srikkanth.
“The mindset I think was too defensive. They have to regroup. They have to have a bit more positive intent. The best way is just to go for it,” he told the Melbourne Age on Thursday. “But when you miss King Kohli, it’s going to make it difficult let’s be honest. And Shami. But I’m sure they’ll come out and fight.”
Teams:
AUSTRALIA (probable): Matthew Wade, Joe Burns, Marcus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Tim Paine (captain), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
INDIA (from): Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Mayank Agarwal, K.L. Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Thangarasu Natarajan, Ravindra Jadeja, Prithvi Shaw.
Umpires: Paul Reiffel (Australia), Rod Tucker (Australia).
TV umpire: Bruce Oxenford (Australia).
Match referee: David Boon (Australia).