Fantasy suggestions for the Brisbane Test between Australia and India
Jan 15: Australia vs India, 4th Test, Brisbane
Pro Tip: Since 2018, in Australia, Gabba has been the best place for pacers, who have struck at 21.69. In contrast, spinners had the poorest returns in that period, averaging 52 (minimum five innings). So, pick players accordingly.
Our XI: Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, David Warner, Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschange, R Ashwin, Pat Cummins, T Natarajan, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood
Substitutes: Ajinkya Rahane, Chesteshwar Pujara, Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc.
Player availability: India – Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Hanuma Vihari, R Ashwin and Rishabh Pant have all been injured in the Sydney game and their participation will be in doubt for this game. T Natarajan, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Agarwal, Kuldeep Yadav and Wriddhiman Saha are all in contention.
Australia – Will Pucovski is injured after dislocating his shoulder while fielding in the last game and Marcus Harris has come in.
We might not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant) updates, so please finalise your team after the toss.
Captain: Marnus Labuschagne
Labuschagne has scored 1542 runs in 12 games at an average of 73.42 in the World Test Championship, well ahead of the rest of the pack – 292 runs ahead of Steven Smith, the next highest run accumulator in the same number of games. He is also the highest run-scorer in the ongoing series with 293 runs in three games but he is yet to score a century and this might be the game to do it. His two previous Test scores at his home ground are 185 and 81.
Vice-captain: Shubman Gill
The latest Indian batsman to make his Test debut absolutely looked like he belonged at this level so far with some eye-catching knocks. His scores in this series are 45, 35*, 50 and 31 and he is due for a big hundred. Multi-day format has always been his favourite as suggested by his stunning First-Class average of 67.52 after playing 25 matches.
Hot Picks
Steven Smith: After a poor couple of games in the series, Steve Smith showed why he is the number two ranked batsman in Test cricket in the last game by putting in a man of the match performance with scores of 131 and 81. In the six games he played at Gabba, he has scored 579 runs with three 100-plus scores.
R Ashwin: India’s leading wicket-taker in this series with 12 scalps in three games at an average of 28.83 has been in spectacular form and doubling the wickets tally when compared with his counterpart spinner Nathan Lyon (six wickets). Gabba has not been very kind to spinners recently but given his form, he is a definite pick in your XI. Don’t forget his contribution with the bat too.
Pat Cummins: The highest wicket-taker in this series with 15 wickets at a stunning average of 18.13 is also the second-highest wicket-taker in Tests since the start of 2019 with 78 wickets in 16 games. He simply loves bowling at the Gabba picking up a staggering 19 wickets in three games at an average of 15.73. He is also the number one ranked Test bowler in the world currently.
Differential Picks
Rishabh Pant: Rishabh Pant simply loves playing in Australia. He holds the unique record of being the only player to score 25 or more runs in nine consecutive innings in Australia. In Australia, he has scored 512 runs in six games and his average of 56.88 here is the best for any Indian player who has played four minimum Tests. He gives you additional points if he gets to be the designated wicket-keeper.
Rohit Sharma: ohit Sharma came back into the side in the last game and showed signs of his good form with scores of 26 and 52. With the absence of key Indian players, expect him to step up and score big irrespective of his batting position.
Alternate Scenarios
- One of T Natarajan or Shardul Thakur can be picked depending on the playing 11.
- Ajinkya Rahane can replace one of the Indian pacers, if you need an extra batting option.