After the blockbuster white-ball series, India and Australia will now have a showdown for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting with the Day-Night Test in Adelaide on December 17.
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According to former India opener Aakash Chopra, however, the visitors shouldn’t have agreed to start the series with a Day-Night Test as they lack experience against pink ball under lights.
In fact, Virat Kohli and company have played just one Day-Night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens last year. They are currently playing the second warm-up match against Australia A in Sydney with the pink ball under lights.
On the other hand, the home team have the experience of playing five Tests with the pink ball and they have won each one of them. Moreover, Australia have hosted three Day-Night Tests at the Adelaide Oval and won all encounters against New Zealand (2015), South Africa (2016) and England (2017).
"Adelaide has always been our best chance (to beat Australia) because of the similarities in pitch. But now with this being a pink-ball Test match, and the first match of the series, I think it's slightly tilted in favour of Australia because they have played a few pink ball games whereas for our boys its only going to be the second experience.
"Someone like Rahane has had some success in the IPL 2020 but Pujara and Vihari have not played competitive cricket for 8 months. So when you look at the Adelaide Test from all those vantage points, I think things are going to be different and difficult.
"I feel Sydney is our best chance which is going to host the 3rd Test, Adelaide should have been a day Test, we should not have played the first pink ball Test of the series in Adelaide because that's one place your handing over the advantage to the opposition," Chopra said on Sports Today's YouTube channel.
Nonetheless, Australia’s Adelaide Oval has been one happy hunting ground for the Indian skipper Virat Kohli. It is the same venue where Kohli registered his maiden Test ton during India’s disastrous tour of Australia in 2011-12.
The Delhi lad also made his Test captaincy debut on this very ground in December 2014. It was a thrilling affair in which Virat smashed centuries in each innings (115, 141) but Australia won the game by 48 runs.
Aakash Chopra is expecting Kohli to come good once again in Adelaide.
"Adelaide means like home for Virat, every time he has walked out on the field he has scored a century. He's won a Test match there, won a World Cup game, he's got fond memories at that venue.
"For Virat Kohli, this Adelaide is going to mean a lot, it's going to be make or break because he is not going to be there after the match. Physically he will be in India but mentally he might still be in Australia with the Indian team but for all that to happen India must start strongly. It is his favourite hunting ground and he will have to score runs, have to lead from the front and ensure that India wins that Test match because if that doesn't go our way then this whole campaign might just very quickly go pear-shaped," he remarked.
(Inputs from India Today)
