India and Australia will face each other in the last Test match of the ongoing series. The match will be played on 3rd January at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Match Preview:
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy cannot get any better than this? India would play to draw while Australia will look to win the series and seal the final spot of the World Test Championship as well.
After losing the first Test match, Australia has played commendable cricket so far. The debutant Sam Konstas belted Bumrah for an 18-run over, vibing with the crowd, Boland was the comeback hero and Cummins bowled like a vintage Cummins. Marnus and Smith found themselves among runs as well and Travis Head remained the headache for the team India.
Nevertheless, nothing has changed much for the tourist side. Kohli and Sharma could not mark their impact, a sudden retirement as well and besides Nitish Kumar Reddy none of the batters could stay longer on the crease, it was yet again Bumrah who wore his heart on his sleeves and bowled brilliantly. But cricket isn’t a one man show? It’s always a team effort.
Moving to the next and the last test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia would be in high flying confidence as a win will set up their WTC final with South Africa at Lords in June.
Australia has also announced their playing XI for the Sydney Test as Marsh won’t be playing the upcoming test as Australia will have another debutant Beau Webster will take on the spot who is a batter and also bowls medium pace and off spin.
He was the highest scorer in the Sheffield Shield last season with 938 runs at 58.62 and took 30 wickets at 29.30.
Talking about India, the playing XI isn’t confirmed yet but maybe Akash won’t play the last test of the series.
Playing XI:
Australia: 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Sam Konstas, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Beau Webster, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Scott Boland, 11 Nathan Lyon
India (probable): 1 KL Rahul, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rishabh Pant, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dhruv Jurel, 8 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 9 Prasidh Krishna/Harshit Rana, 10 Jasprit Bumrah (C), 11 Mohammed Siraj
Pitch and weather report:
The SCG pitch is set for a thrilling contest. The green surface will aid pacers early on, but batters can thrive as it flattens out. With a strong record of teams batting first winning 47 out of 114 Tests, the toss will be crucial. Expect the team winning the toss to bat first and aim for a big total, with rain on the final two days adding an extra layer of complexity.
Talking about the weather, the ideal playing conditions are at the SCG, with a lovely temperature of 25°C expected, dipping slightly to 24°C in the sun and 23°C in the shade, setting the stage for a great day of cricket.
Head-to-head record:
India and Australia have faced each other in 106 Test matches. India have won 34, while Australia have emerged victorious on 45 occasions.
Prediction:
Given the recent performances, Australia are favourite to win the upcoming Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Where to Watch:
UK: TNT, Discovery+
Australia: Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports, Channel 7, and 7Plus
US: Willow TV
India: Star Sports
South Africa: Super Sports
New Zealand: Sky NZ
Caribbean: SportsMax
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan: JioStar
Pakistan: Tapmad
MENA: Cricbuzz
