IND vs AUS 1st Test: First Glimpse of Perth Pitch Shows Green Top as Travis Head Warns "It Could Be Terrifying"

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As first images of the pitch set to be used for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener at the Optus Stadium in Perth emerged, showing a green top, Australia batter Travis Head warned the wicket could be "terrifying" for the batters.

On Monday (November 18), the media got the first glimpse of the Perth pitch during Australia's training sessions. And according to the Australian media, the pitch was heavily watered and had a nice tinge of green to it.

The reports further added that if the curators maintain their current approach, the Optus Stadium will have a fast and bouncy wicket for the Perth Test, starting on Friday (November 22) as earlier promised by the head curator, Isaac McDonald.

McDonald had told ESPNcricinfo earlier this month, "We're setting ourselves up for really good pace, really good bounce, and really good carry." A good wicket aiding the fast bowlers is what to expect when in Perth, but Head revealed some worrying news for the batters.

Head warned about the terrifying nature of the Perth pitch, saying the batters could find it difficult to score runs if it starts having cracks as the match enters the third day of play.

"There are parts of this wicket that can be terrifying, simple as that. I think everyone's talked about that. Depending on where the wicket goes to on day three, four and five, it can be challenging," Head said while speaking to the Unplayable Podcast.

If the wicket does turn out to be a green top, then it will have both sets of batters worried especially as several players are heading into the series on the back of poor form or no real red ball cricket.

The green top surface will also tempt both India and Australia to use strong pace-attack. The hosts were anyway going to play their big three in the form of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and captain Pat Cummins. Scott Boland is the other specialist, but Mitchell Marsh can also do the job if required as the all-rounder.

Similarly, India led by stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah, who spearheads the pace attack, is likely to be joined by Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, while the visitors also have the option of Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana, and also Nitish Kumra Reddy if they want a batter, who can bowl pace.