Key Players: Finch believes Carey and Pant will be essential in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy showdown

The first Test of the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy is scheduled to take place at Perth's Optus Stadium starting from November 22. This series holds immense importance as both teams are vying for a spot in the ICC World Test Championship final. The Australians are determined to kick off the series on a winning note to avoid a third consecutive series defeat to India on their home turf. On the other hand, Team India is eager to bounce back after a disappointing whitewash series loss to New Zealand at home, marking their first Test series defeat in 12 years on home soil.

This series will be a battle between two in-form wicketkeepers, Carey and Pant. Carey has been on a tear across all formats since last few matches. In his last 10 matches across all formats, Carey has scored 733 runs in 12 innings at an average of 73.3, with two centuries and four half-centuries, with the best score of 123*.

In all of first-class cricket this year, including Tests for Australia, Carey has scored 836 runs in 16 innings at an average of 59.71, with a strike rate of 74.31. He has scored two centuries and four fifties. His best score is 123*.

On the other hand, Pant is also doing really well in Tests. After making his comeback to Test cricket following a life-threatening road accident back in 2022-end, Pant displayed sensational form during five-match home Test season against Bangladesh and New Zealand, scoring 422 runs in 10 innings at an average of 46.88, with a strike rate of over 86. He has scored a century and three fifties in five matches, with best score of 109.

Speaking on Willow Talk Podcast, Finch said at some point or the other in the series, the top orders of both sides will collapse since both sides have fine-pace bowling attacks.

"I think the key could be Alex Carey and Rishabh Pant. The two wicketkeepers are going to be so important. For me, it is that really crucial role of Alex at number seven and Rishabh at number six likely. Carey is aggressive, Rishabh is aggressive. The game is going to go one or two ways really quick. And I think that will be so important," said Finch.

With a 3-0 series whitewash against New Zealand at home, India need to win the series by 4-0 to punch their ticket to feature in London for the WTC final for the third successive time directly.

After the conclusion series opener in Perth, the second Test, featuring the day-night format, will take place under lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10. Fans will then turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test from December 14 to 18.

The traditional Boxing Day Test, scheduled from December 26 to 30 at Melbourne's iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, will mark the series' penultimate stage.

The fifth and final Test will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, promising an exciting climax to a highly anticipated series.

India's squad for Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma , Jasprit Bumrah , Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel , Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant , KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.

Australia squad for the first Test: Pat Cummins , Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc.

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