Steve Smith was hit on his right thumb while batting in the nets on Tuesday, just before the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Adelaide. He was taking throwdowns from Marnus Labuschagne when the ball struck his thumb. As a result, Smith paused his batting and appeared to be in pain for a brief moment.
Smith received a quick check from the team’s medical staff. He moved his thumb carefully but felt little discomfort. After a short break, Smith returned to the nets, showing no signs of a serious injury.
Smith’s form has been concerning. In the first Test in Perth, he scored a golden duck and only 17 runs in the second innings. Consequently, Australia lost the match by 295 runs. Moreover, Smith’s overall performance in the World Test Championship has fallen below expectations. In 13 Tests, he has managed only 755 runs, with an average of 32.82.
Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the Test due to a side strain. Scott Boland is expected to take his place. Sean Abbott and Brendan Doggett have been called up to cover for Hazlewood. Beau Webster joins as a backup for Mitchell Marsh, who is fit to play.
India enters the second Test with confidence after a dominant win in the first match. They also aim to overcome their past struggles in the 2020 Adelaide Test, where they were bowled out for just 36 runs.
Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal.
The second Test begins on December 6. Australia aims to bounce back, while India looks to extend its dominance.
