India look to bounce back as Dhoni returns

Bolstered by the return of regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India will look to regroup and fight their way back into the four-match series when they face Australia on a lively Gabba wicket in the second Test, starting in Brisbane on Wednesday.

In the absence of Dhoni, the visitors were ably led by stand-in skipper Virat Kohli as they came very close to winning the first Test before agonisingly losing out on the fifth and final day by 48 runs in an intense chase.

Dhoni, who returns to the side for the second Test after recovering from a thumb injury, will have to provide the inspiration for the young team to restore parity.

Despite his availability, India do not have a member in this squad who has played Test cricket at the venue, known as Australia's fortress, as no opposition has won a Test there since 1988-89.

The visitors' last Test at the Gabba was during the 2003-04 tour, when Sourav Ganguly set the tone with an imperious knock of 144. Dhoni will perhaps need an act of similar inspiration when he marshals his team in the second game.

Rohit Sharma likely to miss out 

Given the young team, the first and foremost task for Dhoni is to get the playing combination right.

Dhoni's return means Wriddhiman Saha will be warming the benches. Ravindra Jadeja is also unavailable for selection owing to injury and Bhuvneshwar Kumar has already been ruled out, and his replacement Dhawal Kulkarni joining the squad.

In four of their last six overseas Tests, wherein Dhoni was captain in five of them, India opted to go with a five-bowler attack.

A grassy pitch and lots of rolling a day ahead of the Test means that India's bowlers –- in particular the pacemen –- will perhaps take a liking to it. But they need to find their discipline first to make any sort of impression on the Australian batting.

Ravichandran Ashwin looked busy in practice ahead of the match and it is anticipated that he will return to the team. If India do go in with five bowlers then Rohit Sharma will have to sit out, not having done much of note in the first Test.

Test of captaincy

For Dhoni, it will also be a test of his captaincy as his record in overseas Tests is poor -- five loses, three draws, one win in nine Tests, which sums up the three successive overseas series' defeats.

The Adelaide Test is yet another loss but with a difference, as Virat Kohli showed a different side to the captaincy coin in his one-off Test as skipper.

Kohli set an aggressive tone in the build-up to the series and kept the tempo until the last wicket fell, despite defeat being the overall result.

The Delhi batsman scored twin centuries and Dhoni will need him to continue his good form. Opener Murali Vijay and middle-order batsman Chetestwar Pujara were among runs, which is a positive thing for India but the form of Shikhar Dhawan is a case of worry.