Preview: Boxing Day Test of BGT 2024-25
MCG sets the stage for the 4th Test as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy hangs in the balance—who will seize the upper hand in this epic battle?
Jayant Sharma
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When & Where to Watch?
The Boxing Day test will start at 05:00 am IST on 26th December and will be telecast live on Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar.
Average first innings score at MCG
Australia: 362 | India: 308
The weather at Melbourne is expected to touch 40°C on the first day of the test. This could result in pitch getting baked early on and assist spinners earlier than usual.
Rohit Sharma has crossed 20 only twice in his last 13 test innings.
India's other batting stalwart, Virat Kohli, hasn't been any better. He has been dismissed 8 times for single digit scores in Tests in 2024, more than the cumulative such instances in previous three years!
Jasprit Bumrah has taken 21 wickets at an average of 10.90 in this series so far. On the other hand, India's rest of the bowlers have managed only 26 wickets at 36.81.
Australian bowlers, though, have fared well despite the drubbing in the second innings of the Perth test, averaging 27.39 runs per wicket.
Although seems unlikely, reports suggest that Rohit Sharma may return to the top order. If so, either Shubhman Gill or Nitish Reddy may have to sit on bench for the 4th test.
India have called in Tanush Kotian to replace the retired Ravichandran Ashwin in the squad.
Travis Head is deemed fit and will be playing in the Boxing Day test. Australia would breathe a sigh of relief with that news. Head alone has scored 409 runs in the series and their other batters in top 6 have a cumulative of 410 runs, that too thanks to Steven Smith's century in the Gabba test.
Australia have axed Nathan McSweeney after three tests and have brought in the 19-year-old Sam Konstas to take the opening role. In his early public appearances, Konstas has exibitted confidence. Whether that bears fruit or not, is something worth seeing in the remaining two matches.
Scott Boland returns to the Australian XI, replacing the injured Josh Hazlewood. He has 117 first-class wickets at the MCG since his debut in 2011 — 43 ahead of next best — his best of 6/7 came here against England in 2021.
Teams
India's Probable XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubhman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj
Australia's Playing XI: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
Players To Watch Out For: Rishabh Pant, Usman Khawaja
Squads
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Tanush Kotian, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Beau Webster, Sean Abbott, Josh Inglis, Jhye Richardson
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