Should left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav make his Test debut?
Or must India retain the winning Bengaluru side?
India's splendid come-from-behind victory in the second Test in Bengaluru has shifted the momentum back in the hosts' favour.
Having won the first Test comfortably by a massive 333 runs, Australia succumbed to spin in the next match to go down by 75 runs after they were set 188 for victory.
In both Tests, the bowlers enjoyed the upper hand. Neither team has so far crossed 300.
Aussie Skipper Steve Smith is the only batsman to register a century in the series so far.
Following a break of more than a week, the two teams will resume battle in Ranchi, which makes its debut as a Test venue.
The spotlight will again be on the pitch at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association International stadium, the home ground of the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Local curator S B Singh's comment that three pitches are ready, of which one will be selected by the 'team,' has sent the Australian media into a tizzy.
Singh also claimed the pitch would suit both batsmen and bowlers and would last five days -- a statement one would do well not to take seriously.
The pitch will spin -- and spin a lot the way we have seen in the first two games. How soon the track will start taking turn is the only question.
In Pune and Bengaluru, the pitch offered the spinners assistance right from the start and it won't be a surprise to see the same in Ranchi.
Will India retain the Bengaluru combination or drop Karun Nair to accommodate an extra spinner?
Karun threw away his wicket in both innings on his home ground, playing careless shots, not helping his cause.
India's batting has struggled in the series, especially Captain Virat Kohli who has scored a paltry 40 runs.
If India consider an extra spinner, then off-spinner Jayant Yadav, who struggled to bowl on the turning track in Pune and was dropped for the next game, could make a comeback.
But India have an interesting option in the young left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav who must be itching to bowl on such helpful pitches.
Murali Vijay is expected to recover from injury to take his place at the top of the order in place of Tamil Nadu team-mate Abhinav Mukund who failed in both innings of the second Test.
Should India play three spinners in the Ranchi Test?
Or should India retain the winning Bengaluru side?
Help Kohli and coach Anil Kumble pick the Indian team for the Test.
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