India is heading into the Adelaide Test with a big boost of confidence after beating Australia in Perth to kick off the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 with an impressive win. The return of captain Rohit Sharma is a great news but also a puzzle for the team management, as they will need to adjust the batting order to fit him back in.
Even though the batting order will likely change, Cheteshwar Pujara believes the bowling lineup should stay the same. If it means leaving out star bowlers Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, then that’s okay with him.
In the first match of the series, India took a surprising decision not to play either Ashwin or Jadeja, despite their combined 855 Test wickets, and instead gave the only spinning role to Washington Sundar. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj led the pace attack while newcomers Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy provided solid support.
Bumrah, who stepped up as captain while Rohit was out, took eight wickets in the match. Siraj grabbed five wickets, and Rana impressed by taking four wickets in his debut. Reddy bowled just seven overs but also took one wicket. Sundar had a quiet start, bowling only two overs in the first innings but picked up two wickets in the second innings after bowling 15 overs.
Pujara strongly believes that India should keep the same bowling group for the next Test starting on December 6. He praised the bowlers for their efforts, saying, “This bowling attack has worked well for us. Bumrah looked excellent, and Siraj performed really well, supported by Harshit, who did great for his first match.”
Pujara appreciated Rana for staying calm and focused, despite the extra bounce on the pitches in Australia. He emphasized the need for bowlers to hit the right spots. Pujara also thinks they should stick with Sundar because he adds strength to the batting lineup. He mentioned that if India loses wickets, Washington can help lower down the order as a batter.
“I think Washington didn’t start too well with his bowling but eventually got a couple of wickets by changing his pace. The reason for picking him in the squad was his batting ability. If we lose a few early wickets, he can step up,” said Pujara
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