Australia take first look at Ranchi Pitch

Is this not unusual, may be this is his way of injecting confidence into the young Australian.

The showdown between the world’s top two teams kicked off with a debut test at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, where Australia beat India’s spinners at their own game to end a 19-match unbeaten streak dating back to late 2015.

A recall for one-Test pacer Pat Cummins has been a long time coming but New South Wales captain Moises Henriques believes it still might be too soon for the bowler he considers a “freak of nature”. Everyone said we were going to lose 4-nil, they’re no good.

March 11 marked 16 years since Harbhajan Singh took a hat-trick against Australia on the opening day at the Eden Gardens, the most celebrated Test in Indian cricket history.

“When your back’s against the wall you’ve got to find a way to get up and about, so I still feel like that’s a big part of my game”.

“We didn’t want to make that same mistake again, because at 26, if I went over there and did my back again or something, it would be not an ideal thing for the third time”. “I’ve been pretty positive”. Earlier reports suggested that the Australian selectors were shielding Cummins from Test selection until next summer’s Ashes series at home against archrivals England. “I feel like I play my best cricket when I get in the contest”, he said.

As he made abundantly clear at the Wanderers, Cummins is an intelligent cricketer, and he is well aware of the history that may yet be made in Ranchi. However, Cummins could prove to be the wild card as he tries to seal his Test place for the first time since 2011.

Sparks will always fly when two teams playing similarly aggressive cricket clash on the field but Steve Smith’s “brain fade” during Australia’s defeat in Bengaluru has injected an extra layer of acrimony into the four-match series. Having broken down during the Perth Test last November, Siddle had been confident of a return to the Australian squad ahead of the ongoing tour of India. Everyone in the eleven needs to contribute. “What we learnt in a span of 10 years, he learnt in a span of 3-4 years”.