Steven Smith Australia England Ben Stokes Ashes
Steven Smith to lead Australia out. Reuters

Australia take on India in the second of the four tests scheduled between the two sides. The game will be held at Brisbane.

Where to Watch Live

The play is scheduled to start at 12am GMT on 17 December. Live coverage will be available on Sky Sports 3 and Sky Sports 3 HD. Follow the live text commentary of the game on ESPN Cricinfo.

Overview

Australia are without captain Michael Clarke, who is out with a hamstring injury and will be led out by stand-in subordinate Steven Smith, who faces his biggest challenge thus far.

The hosts come into the game on the back of a thrilling victory against India at the Adelaide Oval and will be confident coming into the Gabba where the conditions will be beneficial to pace attack. Mitchell Johnson, who was insipid at best in the last game, is likely to thrive in these conditions while Chris Harris is forced out, yet to recover from an injury he secured in the last test.

Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc's inclusion into the attack will give Australia more variety in their pace, which has been a bit one-dimensional in the recently concluded test. Nathan Lyon after his heroics at Adelaide, keeps his place in the squad while Peter Siddle has been left out.

Meanwhile, India will be roaring to prove their detractors wrong after what was a commendable fightback at Adelaide. However, a rush of blood to the head undid Virat Kohli's brilliant knock and killed the visitors' best chance to secure an early lead.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni will take over the captaincy from Kohli and replace Wriddhiman Saha, who did a commendable job behind the wickets in the five days that transpired.

The fate of this test depends on their pace attack, which needs to have Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron and Ishant Sharma in full flow, amid conditions conducive to their strengths.

Betting Odds (888sport.com)

Australia to win: 1/12

India to win: 25/1

Draw: 12/1

Team News

Australia

ProbableLineup: Chris Rogers, David Warner, Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Steven Smith (capt), Mitchell Marsh, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon.

India

Probable Lineup: M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt, wk), R Ashwin, Varun Aaron, Ishant Sharma and Mohammad Shami.

Australia India