Australia will enter its most important home Test under Pat Cummins’ captaincy with just four genuine bowling options.
Down 1-0 after a 295-run mauling by India in Perth, Australia simply needs to keep its perfect record in day-night Tests at Adelaide Oval alive to avoid a tough week turning into a bad summer.
Not since the 1997 Ashes in England has Australia come-from-behind to eventually win a Test series.
Australian players were bemused by the criticism that followed after being crushed in Perth, believing the reaction was over-the-top and confident they could still win a Border-Gavaskar series for the first time since 2014-15.
But if the fallout from Perth Stadium was savage, a loss in Adelaide would place an aging team — 10 of the current 11 are aged 30 or older — in serious peril.
Australia will seek to level the five-match series without Josh Hazlewood, who will miss due to a side strain.
Reliable quick Scott Boland is the easiest of inclusions, having kept Hazlewood out of the team for a period when he dominated in 2021-22.
The bowling should fall almost completely to Cummins, Boland, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, despite all-rounder Mitch Marsh declared fit to take the ball.
The 33-year-old has been hampered by back soreness since sending down more overs than he and Australia would have preferred in Perth when India piled on second-innings runs.
Marsh didn’t bowl at all in the nets during this week, with Australia preferring to keep him as fresh as possible for the match.
But if India’s batters get on a roll as they did in Perth, Cummins might not have any other choice but to turn to Marsh, as well as Marnus Labuschagne.
The decision to use Labuschagne’s part-time medium pace for crucial overs in the first Test didn’t come across well in a historically bad loss.
For four Tests earlier in the year, Australia had the rare option of turning to two genuine all-rounders to bowl overs when Cameron Green and Marsh played in the same team.
But with Green ruled out for the entire summer with a back injury and Marsh struggling to maintain full fitness, Australia are suddenly lacking in bowling depth.
The move to throw Labuschagne the ball for crucial overs in Perth was derided, with the number three’s bowling seemingly treated as a joke pre-series.
But if India bat long periods in Adelaide, as they did in the first Test, then Australia might need to turn to Labuschagne again.
The former number one-ranked Test batter bowled significant periods in the nets during the week.
“I’d say probably more likely turn to the fast bowlers a bit more,” Cummins said.
“In Perth, ‘Joshy’ (Hazlewood) was getting a little bit sore as well towards the end, so there’s a bit of preservation there.
“Whereas this Test, everyone’s fit and firing, and if that remains the case, as a general rule you try to rely on your four main guys.”
How to watch the Test, what time does it start?
If you want to watch the second Test in Adelaide, you can tune in on free-to-air on Channel Seven, or on Pay-TV on Foxtel.
You can also stream the game on 7Plus, or on Kayo if you have a subscription.
The day-night Test at Adelaide Oval begins at 2:30pm, local time (SA). Depending where you are, that is 3pm AEDT, 1:30pm ACST (NT) or 1pm AWST (WA).
Play is scheduled to finish at 9:30pm, local time (10pm AEDT).
ABC Sport will have live digital and audio coverage throughout this summer of cricket.
Follow every ball live online with the ABC Sport live blog, and listen to all the action on ABC Radio or through the ABC listen App.
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