Milestone hunt to start for Steve Smith, Aussie bowling quartet from Perth Test against India

Perth [Australia], November 20 (ANI): Australian batter Steve Smith, skipper Pat Cummins, pacer Mitchell Starc and spin veteran Nathan Lyon will continue their milestone hunt during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with the first Test in Perth to be played from Friday.

The Perth Test will kickstart from November 22 onwards. Both sides, placed at the top two spots of the ICC World Test Championship points tally will be aiming to make their chances for the final stronger. While India seeks to bounce back after a rare, but humiliating home setback against New Zealand, Australia would be aiming to avoid a hat-trick of series losses to India at home.

Smith needs just 315 runs to become the fourth Australian batter after Ricky Ponting (13378), Allan Border (11174), and Steve Waugh (10927) to reach the landmark of 10,000 Test runs. Currently, he has scored 9.685 runs in 109 Tests, averaging 56.97, with 32 centuries and 41 fifties. His best score is 239.

He also needs 559 runs and a bumper Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in order to become the sixth Australian to touch the 17,000-run mark in international cricket. Currently, he has scored 16,441 runs at an average of 47.79, with 44 centuries and 80 fifties. His best score is 239.

Smith is just 507 runs away from becoming Australia's leading Test run-getter against India. With 2,555 runs in 29 matches, with eight tons and 12 fifties, Ponting holds this record. Smith is currently at 2,042 runs in 19 Tests, averaging 65.87, with nine centuries and five fifties. His best score is 192.

England's Joe Root has 10 Test tons against India, the most by any batter against Asian giants. Two more tons can help Smith surpass Root.

Also, skipper Cummins is also approaching a new milestone which will solidify his legacy as a modern-day great. 22 more wickets and he will become the seventh Australian bowler to get to 500 international wickets. Interestingly, his bowling partner Josh Hazlewood also is awaiting this landmark. Currently, Cummins has taken 478 scalps at an average of 24.55, with best figures of 6/23. Also, 31 more wickets could take him to 300 Test wickets, making him the eighth Aussie to achieve the landmark. Hazlewood also has 478 scalps in 213 matches, averaging 25.15.

In the history of the ICC World Test Championship, Cummins has taken 175 scalps in 42 matches, averaging 22.81. 25 more wickets will make him the first pacer to touch the 200-wicket mark in the competition.

Also, ace spinner Lyon sits at 187 wickets in 43 ICC WTC matches and at second place in the all-time charts. 13 more wickets will make him the first-ever bowler to reach 200 wickets in the competition. Currently, his rival, India's veteran all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin sits at the top of WTC charts with 194 scalps in 40 matches, averaging 21.32.

The 34-year-old Starc will also be aiming to join an elite company of Australian bowlers, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Brett Lee as the fourth bowler to get to 700 international wickets. He currently sits at 681 scalps in 281 matches, averaging 25.73, with best figures of 6/28.

After the series opener in Perth on November 22, 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 (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.

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