Australia have had over a week to reflect on their humbling defeat in Perth, and now attention turns to the Adelaide Oval pitch ahead of the second Test of the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). Photos have emerged of the surface a few days out from the match, with only a light amount of grass that is expected to be trimmed further.

Subhayan Chakraborty, Principal Sports Correspondent at RevSportz Global, shared an image of the surface on Monday. With sunny and clear conditions forecast for the rest of the week, including 36 degrees on match eve (Thursday) and 31 degrees on day one (Friday), the surface is expected to dry out quite quickly.

Adelaide Oval Pitch 👀 pic.twitter.com/MvjuQx0Pik

— Subhayan Chakraborty (@CricSubhayan) December 2, 2024

Adelaide Oval pitch: A good surface expected for batting

The toss could prove crucial to the result. Pitches typically have more grass on it in the days leading up to the Test, which is then trimmed off before the match. However, this Adelaide surface looks to have less grass which potentially makes for terrific batting conditions on day one.

The average first innings score in seven day/night Tests in Adelaide is 388.57. In the last ten Tests (both red and pink ball), the average first innings score is 367.5, fluctuating between totals of 400+ and less than 250.

However, the pitch did have a similar look in the Australia-West Indies Test in January 2024. Both teams found the going difficult with the bat. After West Indies mustered just 189, Travis Head’s 119 took Australia to 283 with Shamar Joseph producing the goods on debut. Kraigg Brathwaite’s team was then rolled for 120 on a surface still offering movement.

This surface could offer turn for the spinners given the dry conditions. Spinners usually find it difficult in day/night matches at Adelaide Oval, but Nathan Lyon has performed admirably. Also, R Ashwin was outstanding four years ago, taking 4/55 and 1/16.

The last pink-ball Test between Australia and India was the infamous match in 2020/21. India took a first innings lead after bowling out the hosts for less than 200. Australia then rolled Virat Kohli’s team for a record-low 36. Much is made of how the pink ball nips around more under lights, but the damage was done in the afternoon sunshine.

Now, Australia are under big pressure. They face the possibility of a third-straight home series loss against India. “If Australia do lose the second Test, the batting will come under the microscope. That’s when the paucity of potential batting talent in Australia will cause some selection headaches,” wrote Ian Chappell for ESPNcricinfo.

The second Test begins on December 6.