Perth Test: India to Bat First, Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy Make Their Debut

Perth, November 22 :  India will bat first in the opening Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy here in Perth. Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy will make their Test debut for India in this match. The duo was presented their first Test caps by Ravichandran Ashwin and Virat Kohli.

Indian stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and decided to bat first.

Speaking after winning the toss, Bumrah said, "We are going to bat first as the wicket looks good. We are quite confident about our preparations. We played a Test match here in 2018, so we know what to expect. The wicket gets faster as the game progresses. Nitish is making his debut. We have four fast bowlers, and Washington Sundar is the only spinner."

Meanwhile, Australian captain Pat Cummins said, "It was 50-50, but we're happy with the situation. We’re in a good position, quite fresh. Every time we play against India (whether in any format), it’s always a tough contest. Nathan McSweeney will open for us in the top order."

Playing XIs for Both Teams:

Australia (Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

India (Playing XI): KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah (captain), Mohammed Siraj.