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India and Australia will lock horns in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Friday, February 17. The hosts have already taken a 1-0 lead after a strong performance in Nagpur. The Aussies now need to stand up, shrug off the dust and stage a fightback.
There has been a lot of talk about the playing XI of the two teams. While multiple changes are possible, Australia seem keen to hand left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann a Test debut on Friday, and understandably so as they missed the option of taking the ball away from the right-hander.
India head coach Rahul Dravid has made it clear that Shreyas Iyer will 'walk into the XI' if he is fit enough. Iyer has joined the squad and is expected to take the No. 5 slot, replacing Suryakumar Yadav.
With Australia reaching a point where they can't afford another loss if they want to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the visitors will need to win most of the match-ups in the second Test. On that note, let's take a look at three such match-ups:
#3 Virat Kohli vs Matthew Kuhnemann
Virat Kohli's struggles against spin of late have been well-documented and the same was seen in the Nagpur Test as well. The former captain did look good at the crease while his innings lasted, but was caught down the leg-side off Todd Murphy's bowling.
Kohli has had quite a weird record of getting dismissed by debutants and that's also one of the reasons why his face-off with potential debutant Matthew Kuhnemann will be interesting.
The former captain has been dismissed a staggering 15 times by left-arm spinners and that could give Kuhnemann some encouragement. However, Kohli is playing on his home ground and this is an incredible opportunity for him to end his century drought in Tests.
#2 Steve Smith vs Ravindra Jadeja
Steve Smith seemed to be the only Australian batter willing to apply himself and dig deep in the second innings of the Nagpur Test. He and Marnus Labuschagne had a solid 82-run partnership in the first innings, proving that the duo could be a headache for India in this series.
However, the hosts will know that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja troubled Smith with his accurate line and length. If not for the no-ball, Jadeja could have achieved the unique feat of having clean-bowled Smith twice in the same game. This promises to be an absolutely cracking face-off.
#1 Shreyas Iyer vs Todd Murphy
Arguably one of the most intriguing battles to watch out for will be between the returning Shreyas Iyer and young off-spinner Todd Murphy. The off-spinner was sensational on his Test debut in Nagpur, picking up seven wickets in the only innings that India batted.
The speed at which Murphy bowls and the turn and bounce that he extracts has certainly kept the hosts in check. However, they will be buoyed by Iyer's comeback in the squad as he is arguably one of the best players of spin in the country.
Iyer averages a staggering 142 against right-arm off-spinners and scores at a strike rate of more than 77. He has already played some crucial knocks on turning tracks in Bengaluru and Dhaka and it remains to be seen who ends up on top when he faces off against Murphy.
