Returning Sharma opts to stick with India’s opening combination against Australia

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — India’s winning combination is likely to get a bigger overhaul than Australia’s losing lineup from the opening match in Perth when the five-test series moves to Adelaide for the day-night, pink ball match.

Returning skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have to squeeze back into the batting lineup after missing the big win in Perth last week, when paceman Jasprit Bumrah led India to a massive victory in a city where Australia usually dominates cricket.

Rohit said KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who combined for a 201-run opening partnership to give India the ascendency in the first test, would continue as the opening pair and he would bat “somewhere in the middle.”

Sharma usually bats at the top of the order but he missed the first test to be at the birth of his second child. He said he realized then that he didn’t want to split up the opening formula.

“I was at home with my newborn in my arms and I was watching how KL batted and it was brilliant, to be honest,” he said. “I felt there was no need to change that now.

“Clearly we want results, we want success, and those two guys at the top ... just looking at this one test match, they batted brilliantly.”

Australia is set for just one lineup change when the second test starts Friday, with Scott Boland recalled for his first test match since the 2023 Ashes series to replace the injured Josh Hazlewood.

The 33-year-old Hazlewood, who took match figures of 5-57 from 34 overs in Australia’s heavy 295-run defeat in the first test, is out with a side strain.

Mitch Marsh will play and Australia skipper Pat Cummins said the allrounder is available to bowl, despite experiencing back soreness in Perth after bowling 17 overs last week.

“Made the call with the medical team over the last couple of days to give him a couple of days off bowling but expect him to warm up and, if required, will bowl,” Cummins said Thursday. “Guessing he would be required at some point.”

The Australians in recent decades have rarely been behind after a series-opening test on home soil, and are on the wrong end of a four-series streak against India. So the second match in Adelaide, where they’re undefeated in the day-night test format, is crucial for team morale. Only one Australian team has rallied from 2-0 down to win a five-test series

“When you’re down there’s a little bit more (pressure) but we have been in similar situations in World Cups or other series,” Cummins said. “We know we weren’t at our best last week, we have got a few things to work on.”

Cummins said the expected movement of the pink ball in the day-night conditions would suit Boland.

“As a captain, it’s pretty awesome to have Scotty come straight in,” he said.

India isn’t expected to confirm its starting XI until the toss on Friday. Apart from Sharma and Gill, there’s speculation veteran spin bowler Ravichandran Ashwin will return.

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Lineups:

Australia: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.

India (from): India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaisval, Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (captain) Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohamed Siraj.