Border Gavaskar Trophy: Why is the pink-ball game against PM XI vital for India?

Coming off a humbling defeat at home against New Zealand, Team India scripted an incredible turnaround to kickstart the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The team, featuring two debutants and playing without Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma, claimed a 295-run victory over the Kangaroos at the Optus Stadium. While India has done well to clinch an early lead over Australia, the next Test brings significant challenges. The second match of the BGT is scheduled to be a day-night affair in Adelaide. Fans and players alike might remember the arocity that fared the last time India played a pink ball Test in Adelaide. The team registered an unwanted record of getting bundled at an embarrassing total of just 36 runs against the Kangaroos.

Border Gavaskar Trophy: The significance of India vs Prime Ministers XI warm-up game

The second BGT Test will commence on December 6 at the Adelaide Oval. However, before the main challenge arrives, India will play a warm-up match against Australia’s Prime Ministers XI. The two-day practice game will be played with the pink ball, providing a much-needed opportunity for the touring side to acclimatize to the day-night conditions. India has played four pink-ball Tests so far since the inception of day-night games in the format five years ago. On the surface, the team boasts an impressive 3-1 win-loss record in these Tests. However, their only defeat in this category remains etched in the record books for all the wrong reasons.

The last time India played a pink-ball Test down under, the Australian bowling line-up rattled the batting order. None of the Indian batters managed a double-digit score at the Adelaide Oval as the team collapsed to a meager 36 in the second innings. This 36-run all out is recorded as the lowest total by a team in the longest format of the game. Pat Cummins scalped four wickets, and Josh Hazlewood completed a five-wicket haul to secure Australia’s only win in the series. Other than the Adelaide Test, India has played three pink-ball Tests, all at home, and won all three.

The practice match against Australia’s Prime Ministers XI holds utmost importance for the Indian camp. Skipper Rohit Sharma will be playing his first Test since the New Zealand home series. Moreover, Shubman Gill, who has reportedly hit the nets, gets only this game to gauge his fitness for the Adelaide Test. The young Indian batter picked up a hairline fracture on his thumb during a simulation game at the WACA. India’s batting prospect at the No.3 position, Gill, was effectively ruled out of the opening BGT Test in Perth. Now, if Gill aims to return to the playing XI for the second Test, the two-day warm-up game presents an opportunity for the management and the player to assess his readiness.

For the opening Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, India fielded a relatively raw team against the Kangaroos. Neither of the seasoned spin all-rounders, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, was included in the combination. Instead, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy were handed national caps for the Perth clash. Devdutt Padikkal was called up to fill the No.3 position in the batting order as Gill remained unavailable.

India vs Prime Ministers XI: The first of the pink ball for many Indian players

Now, the warm-up match at the Manuka Oval in Canberra will serve as the first taste of pink-ball cricket for many Indian players. The likes of KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Harshit Rana, and Nitish Kumar Reddy have never played with the bright cherry. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin, however, have been a part of all four day-night Tests that India has played so far. Shubman Gill and Washington Sundar have each played in one, the India vs England game at the Narendra Modi Stadium in 2021.

As for the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj from the current squad have some experience handling the pink ball. Meanwhile, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy, if they remain in contention, will gain valuable exposure.

Notably, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who played his first international match in Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener at Perth, will also play his maiden day-night clash. The same applies to his opening partner from the Perth Test, KL Rahul. While Jaiswal fumbled with an eight-ball duck in the first innings at Optus, the youngster came through with a commendable century in the second innings. Jaiswal and KL Rahul partnered to notch up 201 runs for the opening position. Now, with the return of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul is likely to bat at the No.3 position in the next match.

Moreover, in a bid to exorcise the ghosts of their Adelaide defeat, it remains to be seen whether India will rely on the experience Ashwin brings with the pink ball. Nonetheless, the practice match in Canberra will be an unmissable opportunity for many of the Indian players. For Jaiswal, Rahul, and the young bowling line-up, the two-day warm-up game is all they have to prepare for the ultimate Adelaide challenge beginning on December 6.