LIVE SCORECARD
7:05 am Agarwal (42*) and Pujara (16*) have taken India to 69/1 in 24 overs on the first morning of this decisive fourth Test after visiting skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bat. Josh Hazlewood struck early for the Aussies, removing KL Rahul (9) in the second over of the match. Since then, the Pujara-Agarwal stand has added 59 runs.
6:52 am Nathan Lyon brought into the attack shortly before the lunch break. That's some respite from bounce for India from one end. Just over five minutes left for lunch. 64/1 in 22 overs.
6:41 am Fifty-run stand comes up between Agarwal (37*) and Pujara (13*) for the second wicket. It's been a steady build-up for India with testing spells from Aussie pacers in between. 61/1 in 19 overs.
6:30 am Thirty minutes left before lunch. The Aussies would ideally at least want a wicket more going into the break. Some steep bounce from Cummins and Starc has troubled Agarwal (29*) in the last few deliveries, but he has managed to ride it well so far. India 53/1 in 17 overs. Pujara 13*.
6:15 am Nervous moment for Pujara (12*). Cummins goes up as the ball cut in and went past Pujara's inside edge. Tim Paine goes for the review, but nothing spotted on Hot Spot.
6:14 am Fifty comes up for India, but off a nasty Starc bouncer that had Agarwal (28*) hopping. It hit his glove and then the helmet before flying over the slip cordon for a boundary. India 51/1 in 14 overs.
6:08 am India are steadily building up with Pujara (12*) and Agarwal (24*), who are looking more an more assured as the sun breaks through at SCG. India 47/1 in 13 overs.
5:50 am Ten overs bowled. India, after opting to bat, are 36/1. KL Rahul the man out for 9 in the second over of the day. Pujara batting on 12 and Agarwal on 14.
5:32 am Australia's hero from the last Test in Melbourne, Pat Cummins, comes into the attack as first change. India 22/1 in 6 overs.
5:15 am Some good, old-school leaves by Agarwal and Pujara -- respecting the bowling and conditions. India 12/1 in 3 overs.
5:08 am First wicket! An edgy KL Rahul (9) fails as Hazlewood snaps him, caught in the slips by Marsh. India 10/1 in 1.3 overs.
5:05 am A probing first over from Mitchell Starc, and there's more than appreciable assistance in the air for the Australian pacer. Rahul and Agarwal will have to be patient.
5 am India's new opening pair of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal ready to take first strike under overcast skies in Sydney.
4:53 am The teams have lined up for National Anthems
Playing XIs
India: Lokesh Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
Australia: Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Tim Paine (c/wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
4:30 am India win the toss and decide to bat. Australia trail the four-match series 1-2. Kuldeep Yadav in for Ishant Sharma and KL Rahul replaces Rohit Sharma in India's XI. Aaron Finch and Mitchell Marsh miss out for Australia. Marnus Labushchagne and Peter Handscomb are in.
4:25 am A very good early morning, hello and welcome to our continued coverage of India's tour of Australia that has reached its final Test destination, Sydney, where India will try to win the series and the hosts hope to square it.
Leading 2-1 in the four-match series, India remain firm favourites to make it 3-1 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Virat Kohli, thus, is in a unique position as the only Indian captain to go into the final Test on the Australian soil with the cushion of a series lead.
MATCH PREVIEW
SYDNEY: India's unwavering pursuit of history hit a minor glitch in 11th hour injury concerns but Virat Kohli's men will still walk in as overwhelming favourites against a faltering Australia in the fourth and final Test starting Thursday.
Leading 2-1 in the four-match series, India remain firm favourites to make it 3-1 at the Sydney Cricket Ground despite the injury cloud over premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and senior pacer Ishant Sharma, who has not been named in the 13-member list.
Australia have hosted India since 1947-48, and barring three occasions – in 1980-81, 1985-86 and 2003-04 which were drawn – the visitors have lost the Test series on seven occasions -- 1967-68, 1977-78, 1991-92, 1999-2000, 2007-08, 2011-12, 2014-15.
Virat Kohli, thus, is in a unique position as the only Indian captain to go into the final Test on the Australian soil with the cushion of a series lead.
A series win in Australia will certainly put Kohli on a different pedestal even though the quality of the home team's batting line-up suffered due to the ball-tampering bans on former skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner.
Kohli will also need to fret over his team combination as the skipper revealed that senior off-spinner hasn't adequately recovered from his injury despite being named in the preliminary 13-member squad.
With spin considered a traditional factor in any Sydney Test, India were left fretting over the fitness of off-spinner R Ashwin, who is yet to fully recover from left abdominal strain that laid him low after the first Test in Adelaide.
Ishant is out after experiencing discomfort in his left rib cage and the team management didn't want to risk him by playing him in the decider.
While Ashwin had played on in Nottingham and Southampton (despite a groin injury as revealed by the team management only at the Oval), he has already missed two Tests - in Perth and Melbourne - in the on-going series.
"It's unfortunate that he's had two niggles that are quite similar in the last two away tours," said skipper Kohli.
"He's very important for sure. In Test cricket, he's a vital part of this team and we wanted him to be 100 percent fit for a longer period to that he can come back to us in the Test format. He is very disappointed that he's not able to recover in time," Kohli elaborated.
In a strange u-turn, after he was ruled out at the time of Kohli's pre-match press conference, Ashwin was named in the 13-man shortlist for this fourth Test.
A final decision on his fitness and availability for the match will be taken at toss-time.
Additionally, India have included left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav as cover, in case the skipper decides to go in with two spinners.
Umesh Yadav has been included in place of Ishant, along with Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
In Rohit Sharma's absence, out-of-favour opener KL Rahul could be slated for a comeback after missing out in Melbourne, with Hanuma Vihari slotting down to his number six spot.
This is on assumption that regardless of Ashwin's fitness, India will opt to play four bowlers, whether in a two-pacer-two spinners or three-pacers-one-spinner combination.
There is no option of playing an all-rounder as Hardik Pandya continues to be ignored, despite a hectic pre-match workout in the nets with both bat and ball.
Kohli has described Vihari as an "exciting" spinner and he will be the second spin option, if India retain their bowling combination from the MCG Test.
Additionally, this 13-man shortlist can also be seen as a ploy to keep Australia guessing, for the hosts made a departure from norm and decided not to name their playing eleven for the first time in this series.
Skipper Tim Paine said that they would wait to announce the team until the toss, taking into consideration if India opt to play two full-time spinners.
While they need at least a draw in Sydney to win the series outright, India will retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy irrespective of the result. Kohli will join Ganguly as the only Indian captain to have achieved this feat in Australia.
Additionally, one more win will take Kohli ahead of Ganguly, who led India to 11 wins in 28 overseas Tests. Kohli has matched that record in 24 away Tests.
For Australia, batsman Peter Handscomb is expected to make a comeback for Mitchell Marsh, who has come under severe criticism after his poor shot selection in Melbourne.
The other toss-up is between opener Aaron Finch and leg-spin all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne. If Finch is left out, Usman Khawaja will open with Marcus Harris, and Labuschagne slotting in the middle-order.
It remains to be seen if this would solve any of Australia's batting problems, with not a single batsman scoring a century so far in this Test series.
Teams:
India (Final 13): Virat Kohli (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin.
Australia: Tim Paine (capt & wk), Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Peter Handscomb, Peter Siddle.
7:05 am Agarwal (42*) and Pujara (16*) have taken India to 69/1 in 24 overs on the first morning of this decisive fourth Test after visiting skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bat. Josh Hazlewood struck early for the Aussies, removing KL Rahul (9) in the second over of the match. Since then, the Pujara-Agarwal stand has added 59 runs.
6:52 am Nathan Lyon brought into the attack shortly before the lunch break. That's some respite from bounce for India from one end. Just over five minutes left for lunch. 64/1 in 22 overs.
6:41 am Fifty-run stand comes up between Agarwal (37*) and Pujara (13*) for the second wicket. It's been a steady build-up for India with testing spells from Aussie pacers in between. 61/1 in 19 overs.
6:30 am Thirty minutes left before lunch. The Aussies would ideally at least want a wicket more going into the break. Some steep bounce from Cummins and Starc has troubled Agarwal (29*) in the last few deliveries, but he has managed to ride it well so far. India 53/1 in 17 overs. Pujara 13*.
The only non drop-in pitch of the series. Likely to deteriorate faster than the first three pitches. Spin to win on… https://t.co/B1E6ccgYJG
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) 1546477486000 6:15 am Nervous moment for Pujara (12*). Cummins goes up as the ball cut in and went past Pujara's inside edge. Tim Paine goes for the review, but nothing spotted on Hot Spot.
The Aussies lose a review in the 15th over... #SpecsaversCricket #AUSvIND | @SpecsaversAU https://t.co/L2ZZWgREjv
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) 1546476855000 6:14 am Fifty comes up for India, but off a nasty Starc bouncer that had Agarwal (28*) hopping. It hit his glove and then the helmet before flying over the slip cordon for a boundary. India 51/1 in 14 overs.
6:08 am India are steadily building up with Pujara (12*) and Agarwal (24*), who are looking more an more assured as the sun breaks through at SCG. India 47/1 in 13 overs.
5:50 am Ten overs bowled. India, after opting to bat, are 36/1. KL Rahul the man out for 9 in the second over of the day. Pujara batting on 12 and Agarwal on 14.
5:32 am Australia's hero from the last Test in Melbourne, Pat Cummins, comes into the attack as first change. India 22/1 in 6 overs.
5:15 am Some good, old-school leaves by Agarwal and Pujara -- respecting the bowling and conditions. India 12/1 in 3 overs.
Well begun is half done as they say..Indns are on their way to creating history...I’d have loved to see… https://t.co/NaZqJuJbBZ
— Bishan Bedi (@BishanBedi) 1546472375000 5:08 am First wicket! An edgy KL Rahul (9) fails as Hazlewood snaps him, caught in the slips by Marsh. India 10/1 in 1.3 overs.
So Rahul's woes continue...... Something in this track early on. India need to play out the first session with as little damage as possible.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) 1546472296000 5:05 am A probing first over from Mitchell Starc, and there's more than appreciable assistance in the air for the Australian pacer. Rahul and Agarwal will have to be patient.
5 am India's new opening pair of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal ready to take first strike under overcast skies in Sydney.
4:53 am The teams have lined up for National Anthems
As a mark of respect to the demise of Mr.Ramakant Achrekar, the team is wearing black arm bands today. #TeamIndia https://t.co/LUJXXE38qr
— BCCI (@BCCI) 1546473057000 Playing XIs
India: Lokesh Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah
Australia: Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Tim Paine (c/wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Let's do this. #TeamIndia win the toss and will bat first #AUSvIND https://t.co/bdBRbKtOwt
— BCCI (@BCCI) 1546470388000 4:30 am India win the toss and decide to bat. Australia trail the four-match series 1-2. Kuldeep Yadav in for Ishant Sharma and KL Rahul replaces Rohit Sharma in India's XI. Aaron Finch and Mitchell Marsh miss out for Australia. Marnus Labushchagne and Peter Handscomb are in.
4:25 am A very good early morning, hello and welcome to our continued coverage of India's tour of Australia that has reached its final Test destination, Sydney, where India will try to win the series and the hosts hope to square it.
Leading 2-1 in the four-match series, India remain firm favourites to make it 3-1 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Virat Kohli, thus, is in a unique position as the only Indian captain to go into the final Test on the Australian soil with the cushion of a series lead.
MATCH PREVIEW
SYDNEY: India's unwavering pursuit of history hit a minor glitch in 11th hour injury concerns but Virat Kohli's men will still walk in as overwhelming favourites against a faltering Australia in the fourth and final Test starting Thursday.
Leading 2-1 in the four-match series, India remain firm favourites to make it 3-1 at the Sydney Cricket Ground despite the injury cloud over premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and senior pacer Ishant Sharma, who has not been named in the 13-member list.
Australia have hosted India since 1947-48, and barring three occasions – in 1980-81, 1985-86 and 2003-04 which were drawn – the visitors have lost the Test series on seven occasions -- 1967-68, 1977-78, 1991-92, 1999-2000, 2007-08, 2011-12, 2014-15.
Virat Kohli, thus, is in a unique position as the only Indian captain to go into the final Test on the Australian soil with the cushion of a series lead.
A series win in Australia will certainly put Kohli on a different pedestal even though the quality of the home team's batting line-up suffered due to the ball-tampering bans on former skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner.
Kohli will also need to fret over his team combination as the skipper revealed that senior off-spinner hasn't adequately recovered from his injury despite being named in the preliminary 13-member squad.
With spin considered a traditional factor in any Sydney Test, India were left fretting over the fitness of off-spinner R Ashwin, who is yet to fully recover from left abdominal strain that laid him low after the first Test in Adelaide.
Ishant is out after experiencing discomfort in his left rib cage and the team management didn't want to risk him by playing him in the decider.
While Ashwin had played on in Nottingham and Southampton (despite a groin injury as revealed by the team management only at the Oval), he has already missed two Tests - in Perth and Melbourne - in the on-going series.
"It's unfortunate that he's had two niggles that are quite similar in the last two away tours," said skipper Kohli.
"He's very important for sure. In Test cricket, he's a vital part of this team and we wanted him to be 100 percent fit for a longer period to that he can come back to us in the Test format. He is very disappointed that he's not able to recover in time," Kohli elaborated.
In a strange u-turn, after he was ruled out at the time of Kohli's pre-match press conference, Ashwin was named in the 13-man shortlist for this fourth Test.
A final decision on his fitness and availability for the match will be taken at toss-time.
Additionally, India have included left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav as cover, in case the skipper decides to go in with two spinners.
Umesh Yadav has been included in place of Ishant, along with Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
In Rohit Sharma's absence, out-of-favour opener KL Rahul could be slated for a comeback after missing out in Melbourne, with Hanuma Vihari slotting down to his number six spot.
This is on assumption that regardless of Ashwin's fitness, India will opt to play four bowlers, whether in a two-pacer-two spinners or three-pacers-one-spinner combination.
There is no option of playing an all-rounder as Hardik Pandya continues to be ignored, despite a hectic pre-match workout in the nets with both bat and ball.
Kohli has described Vihari as an "exciting" spinner and he will be the second spin option, if India retain their bowling combination from the MCG Test.
Additionally, this 13-man shortlist can also be seen as a ploy to keep Australia guessing, for the hosts made a departure from norm and decided not to name their playing eleven for the first time in this series.
Skipper Tim Paine said that they would wait to announce the team until the toss, taking into consideration if India opt to play two full-time spinners.
While they need at least a draw in Sydney to win the series outright, India will retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy irrespective of the result. Kohli will join Ganguly as the only Indian captain to have achieved this feat in Australia.
Additionally, one more win will take Kohli ahead of Ganguly, who led India to 11 wins in 28 overseas Tests. Kohli has matched that record in 24 away Tests.
For Australia, batsman Peter Handscomb is expected to make a comeback for Mitchell Marsh, who has come under severe criticism after his poor shot selection in Melbourne.
The other toss-up is between opener Aaron Finch and leg-spin all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne. If Finch is left out, Usman Khawaja will open with Marcus Harris, and Labuschagne slotting in the middle-order.
It remains to be seen if this would solve any of Australia's batting problems, with not a single batsman scoring a century so far in this Test series.
Teams:
India (Final 13): Virat Kohli (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin.
Australia: Tim Paine (capt & wk), Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Peter Handscomb, Peter Siddle.
Source : timesofindia[dot]indiatimes[dot]com
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