India have declared they are ready to deal with what shapes as a raging green top but have suffered a major blow on the eve of the second Test against Australia, with master spinner Ravi Ashwin among two enforced changes because of injury.
Ashwin, a key figure in India's 31-win in Adelaide, has a left-abdominal strain and will miss the maiden Test at Optus Stadium in Perth.
Ravi Ashwin will miss the Perth Test.Credit:AAP
The wily off-spinner with a major trick bag has 342 wickets in 65 Tests and claimed six wickets for the match in India's historic win in Adelaide, where he delivered a marathon 86.5 overs.
This has heightened expectation that the tourists are likely to unveil a four-pronged pace attack on what is expected to be a quick, green and lively deck which could prompt a decision to bowl first.
Batsman Rohit Sharma is also out of the Test, having jarred his back in Adelaide, as the tourists now eye taking an unbeatable series lead in the best-of-four Tests to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
All-rounder Hanuma Vihari is likely to replace Sharma at No.6 and provide a part-time spin option, while either Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Umesh Yadav will replace Ashwin and join Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah in a pace battery.
While a lively deck was supposed to unsettle an Indian side used to more placid conditions, Virat Kohli declared on Thursday he and his team would welcome the extra bounce.
"Yeah for sure. We certainly get more excited than nervous looking at lively pitches now. We understand that we do have a bowling attack which can bowl the opposition out as much as they are convinced about their attack," he said.
"When you have four or five fast bowlers who are at the peak of their ability, it's always a great feeling to have in the side. For us as batsmen it also gives us a lot of motivation and boosts us up that we can put in those match-winning significant batting performances because we have so much belief in our bowling unit right now.
"We understand that if we bat well, we will definitely get the result that we want. It's a very exciting phase to be in but something that we need to build on. We cannot be complacent or satisfied with one win. We have to keep repeating good things to be able to win series. Away it's, obviously, a bit more challenging but even at home if you want to win a series you have to win games and for that you need to be consistent."
Kumar has played six Tests against Australia, including one in Sydney in 2015 when he claimed 5-122 in the first innings. Fellow quick Yadav has played 11 of his 40 Tests against Australia, including taking 5-93 at the WACA in 2012.
Kohli had a double failure in Adelaide with the bat but the world's premier strokemaker has backed himself and his teammates to follow the lead set by Adelaide first-innings century maker Cheteshwar Pujara and flourish a deck which could be dubbed the "green mamba".
"I was pretty happy to see the pitch the way it is. I hope that no more grass is taken off the pitch because that will mean the first three days will be, obviously, very lively and we as a team are happy with that," he said.
"We just have to challenge ourselves as a batting unit, show discipline and show positive intent. And then ask the bowlers to do the job they did at Adelaide as well. I think this pitch is going to offer significantly more to the bowler than Adelaide did and that's something we're very excited about to be honest."
There has been considerable debate about the accuracy of the decision review system after umpires Nigel Llong and Kumar Dharmasena had decisions overturned in Adelaide.
Australian spinner Nathan Lyon was particularly frustrated, while skipper Tim Paine questioned whether the technology took into account the change in bounce as the pitch deteriorated.
Kohli revealed the tourists, who were the last team to agree to the use of the technology two years ago, had sought clarification with Llong and Dharmasena, who will both stand in Perth.
"We had a word with the umpires. You have to take all the pros and cons with it," he said.
"Sometimes the inconclusive decisions go your way and sometimes they don't. It all depends on those little things when a spike comes up on the snicko or there's a hot spot mark but no snicko spike as such. There are variables in the technology for sure. But I think if it wasn't for DRS then you probably would be in a different situation in a game because as a batter or a fielding side, you don't have any second chance of checking a decision that could be game-changing, to be honest. I'm OK with it.
"Nothing's going to be perfect. You take human errors into consideration. I don't see how everything or anything can be totally error-free. Unless things are rectified totally, we'll have to just take all these things in our stride. To understand that there are significant decisions that the DRS has been able to overrule and the game has gone to a different dimension altogether is something I think all cricketers should be happy with. I'm sure they'll look at the technological blips that are happening right now and try to correct them."
INDIAN SQUAD: Virat Kohli (c), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.
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