The first Test of the high-octane Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 got underway on Friday, November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth. In the absence of Rohit Sharma, pacer Jasprit Bumrah took over India's captaincy duties, and called it correctly at the toss alongside opposition counterpart Pat Cummins.
Skipper Bumrah revealed at the toss that India were playing Washington Sundar as the sole spin bowling all-rounder for the game, as the experienced duo Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were benched for the first time after three years. Meanwhile, pace all-rounders Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy were handed Test debuts.
"We are going to bat first, looks like a good wicket. Very confident with our preparation. We played a Test match here in 2018 so we know what to expect. The wicket gets quicker. Nitish makes his debut. We have 4 quicks and Washi is the lone spinner," Bumrah told at the toss.
India Playing XI for 1st Test:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah (captain), Mohammed Siraj
This marked the first instance since 2021 that the duo of Ashwin and Jadeja missed featuring in a Test match together. Coincidentally, the last time it happened was also on India's tour to Australia during the 2020-21 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the fourth Test of the series, played at the Gabba in Brisbane, India had to play without both Ashwin and Jadeja as both underwent injuries ahead of the game.
Notably, this was the same game where India created history by breaching the Gabba fortress with a second-string team, led by Ajinkya Rahane. Rishabh Pant's unbeaten knock 89 became the highlight of the series decider, as India clinched a cliffhanger on the final day.
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