Melbourne [Australia], December 25 (ANI): India will lock horns with Australia in the fourth Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), which will begin early on Thursday at 5 PM IST.
With the series tied at 1-1, both sides will take part in the much-anticipated Boxing Day Test, aiming to secure an important series lead to strengthen their case for the ICC World Test Championship final.
Three days ago, the centre pitch at the MCG was tinged with green. The temperature on the first day of the Melbourne Test is expected to hit 40 degrees. On Day 1, the pitch is likely to remain well-covered in grass, which may influence the captain’s decision after winning the toss.
Speaking ahead of the game at a pre-match press conference, Cummins commented on the pitch: “It looks really good, quite consistent with what it has been like here for the last few years. There’s a bit of grass coverage, and it feels nice and firm. The curators have done a great job here over the last five or six years, and I suspect it will be the same this year.”
In terms of head-to-head stats, India and Australia have contested 110 Test matches, with the Baggy Greens leading with 46 victories. The visitors have secured 33 wins, 30 matches have ended in draws, and one match was tied.
India has had a solid record in recent Boxing Day Tests, with the Rohit Sharma-led side winning two of the last three encounters, while one ended in a draw.
As of December 2024, India has played 14 Tests at the MCG, winning four, losing eight, and drawing two. Notably, India has remained unbeaten at the MCG since 2011, with victories in the 2018 and 2021 Boxing Day Tests.
In the 2018 Boxing Day Test, India secured a memorable win, with standout performances from both batsmen and bowlers. Similarly, the 2021 Test saw India clinch victory, demonstrating resilience and strategic brilliance. These successes have bolstered India’s confidence in recent Boxing Day encounters.
Australian skipper Pat Cummins confirmed that left-handed batter Travis Head is fit to play following a minor quad strain during the Brisbane Test, and pacer Scott Boland will replace the injured Josh Hazlewood.
Konstas played a key role in Australia’s ICC U19 World Cup 2024 triumph, scoring 191 runs in seven innings at an average of 27.28, including a century. He also featured in a two-match series between Australia A and India A ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, scoring 92 runs in four innings, with a match-winning 73*. In the warm-up pink-ball game against India, he made his mark with a classy 107 off 97 balls against a formidable Indian attack.
In the ongoing Sheffield Shield season, Konstas is the fifth-highest run-scorer, with 471 runs in five matches at an average of 58.87, including two centuries and a fifty, with a highest score of 152.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is expected to open the batting in the fourth Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday, according to reports.
The reports also suggest that KL Rahul, who has been in excellent form as an opener in the series, may be shifted to number three. He is India’s leading run-scorer in the series and second overall, with 235 runs in three matches and six innings at an average of 47.00, including two fifties and a best score of 84. With his patient gameplay and rock-solid defence, he has been highly successful in seeing off the new ball.
So far in the series, Rohit has struggled in the middle order. Returning to the team for the Adelaide pink-ball Test, the ‘Hitman’ chose to bat lower down the order due to the success of the opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL during the Perth Test win. On his return, Rohit managed only 19 runs in three innings at number six, with a best score of 10. Despite this, he maintains an average of 48.00 in the 18 Tests he has played at number six, amassing 1,056 runs, including three centuries and six fifties.
Teams:
Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
India’s squad for the fourth and fifth Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal, Tanush Kotian. (ANI)
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