AHMEDABAD: Stand-in captain Steve Smith is looking forward to a new “game of chess” against India as Australia aim to square the series on another spin minefield when the final Test begins in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
India was chastened by a rare home defeat in the third Test last week and are looking to bounce back to take the series 3-1, and with it secure their berth in the ICC World Test Championship final at the Oval in June.
Australia clinched their place in the showpiece with their nine-wicket third Test win, completed before lunch on the third day on a treacherous Indore track.
Australia captain Pat Cummins has remained at home because of a family illness, leaving his deputy Smith with another chance to pit his wits against India in the subcontinent, something he clearly relishes.
“It’s a game of chess, every ball means something,” said Smith after the Indore victory, which followed India’s wins in Nagpur and Delhi.
“It’s good to just move people and try to make the batter do something different and just play games with them,” Smith said after the Indore triumph.
“It’s probably my favorite place in the world to captain.”
Despite the local Gujarat Cricket Association’s assurances of a “normal pitch”, both sides are again expected to pick three spinners, though India may opt for the wrist-spin of Kuldeep Yadav instead of Axar Patel, who has taken only one wicket in the series.
India may also strengthen their batting by dropping a seam bowler and bringing in the explosive Suryakumar Yadav.
Australia’s spinners Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann took full advantage of an Indore pitch officially rated as “poor” by the match referee to give Australia only their second Test victory on Indian soil since 2004.
India (from): Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat
Australia (from): Steve Smith (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Starc
