Team India will look to regain their focus ahead of the Test series starting next Tuesday, when they take on a Cricket Australia President's XI side in a two-day tour game starting here on Thursday. The match will be played at the Gliderol Stadium in Glenelg (sub-urban Adelaide), venue of India's first tour-game last week.
The second tour-game had been cancelled owing to the demise of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Murali Vijay are expected to be available for the match, after attending Hughes' funeral on Wednesday, as it is the only practice before the four-match Test series gets underway next week.
Indian skipper MS Dhoni, having recovered from a hand injury, will join the team in Adelaide on Friday evening. He will, of course, miss the tour game. It remains to be seen if he will be available for the first Test. If he does, as anticipated, Kohli will have to wait a little longer to lead India in the longer format.
India's concern will be to get as much match practice under their belts as possible. It has been more than a week since the Indian team played a proper game of cricket. While the break is welcome given their tight schedule, they also need to be in proper shape ahead of an important Test series.
The major questions pertain to the bowling combination. In the first tour-game, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav were rested. The duo, along with Mohd Shami, bowled a fair share when the Indian team simulated match practice at Adelaide Oval over the weekend in place of the cancelled tour-game.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Varun Aaron had been the prime bowlers in the first tour-game and as such were rested from this match practice.
It is expected that all medium pacers will be given a fair go in this second game, to be played on a hastily prepared pitch, so as to narrow down three choices for the Adelaide Test. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma selecting themselves on performance and experience, the toss-up could be between Shami and Aaron, much depending on the consistency they can produce in this tour match.
Among the spinners, R Ashwin and Karn Shem had been prominent in both the tour-game and simulated practice. With Dhoni coming back into the frame for the first Test, India might again go in with five bowlers and as such Ravindra Jadeja comes into the picture. The skipper's return also puts the spotlight on Rohit Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha.
While the two are expected to be involved in the practice game, Dhoni's availability for the first Test and his tendency to go in with five bowlers will eventually mean that both Sharma and Saha will sit out.
Alternately the only other significant worry in the batting order pertains to opener Shikhar Dhawan. He was out for only ten runs in the first practice match. It remains to be seen if third-opener in the squad, Kl Rahul, will be given a chance. He had sat out the first tour game.