Australia vs India 2018-19, 2nd Test preview: A new stadium in Perth welcomes India

After the conclusion of the thrilling first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the two teams now head to Perth for the second match. A new stadium at Perth, called the Optus Stadium, will welcome India on Friday.

This new stadium is situated approximately one kilometre away from the WACA. The WACA, which was known for its fiery pitch, will not host any international Test matches in the future, as per the decision taken by the Australian board.

The old stadium at WACA can only host around 10,000 spectators, whereas the new Optus stadium can host up to 60,000 people at a time. In that respect, the decision to move to the new venue makes sense.

The WACA was an iconic ground for Australia, but there comes a time for everything and everyone to move on. So let’s celebrate the WACA and its memories, and hope that there are many records waiting to be written at the Optus stadium.

With India winning the first Test match of the series, the pressure is now on the Australians at their home to come back and show the world they can still be competitive without their two batting giants David Warner and Steve Smith. On the other hand, the Indian team is full of confidence ahead of the second match, as their batting as well as bowling are clicking.

After the first match Ravi Shastri said that he wanted the Indian quicks to rest ahead of the second Test, and that he would not mind them being absent from the net sessions.

Prithvi Shaw, who is now recovering from the injury which he picked up before the first Test, is unlikely to get a look in even if he gets fit in time. The Indian team management will give another chance to the existing Indian openers before taking a call on any changes. It is likely that the Indian team will go ahead with the same team in the second Test.

That said, the new Optus stadium is considered to be as fiery and bouncy as the erstwhile WACA. If Virat Kohli is tempted to play an extra pacer, he might drop Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma and field Umesh Yadav, with Hanuma Vihari as the part-time spinner.

On the other hand, Australia will most probably go in with the same XI for the Perth match. Justin Langer is quite confident that it will be difficult for the Indian batsmen to survive on the new pacy wicket, and he will be hoping that Mitchell Starc and Co rattle the opposition.

Here's wishing for another good game of cricket when India take on Australia in the second Test match at Perth.