AUS Vs IND: After the third red ball match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, the five-match red ball series was still levelled to one all because that Test match in Brisbane ended in a draw. But things have changed for India after their defeat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Aussies won the fourth red ball match at MCG and in that process, they have also taken a series of 2-1. Australia won the Pink Ball Test Match and the fourth Test at MCG. India had started the series with a dominant win at Perth and the rains allowed the visitors to get away at the Gabba.
However, the performance of the visitors, India wasn’t quite up to the mark at MCG. Only Jasprit Bumrah, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Yahaswi Jaiswal played well. At the same time, the other senior batters like Rohit, Virat, Rahul, Jadeja and Pant gave a flop show and their below-par performance is the reason why India struggled throughout that match.
AUS Vs IND: Full Match Details –
Match – AUS Vs IND: New Year’s Test Match – Fifth and The Final Test Of The Series
Venue – Sydney Cricket Ground
Day and Date – Friday, 3rd January 2025 to Tuesday, 7th January 2025
Toss Timings – 4.30 AM Indian Standard Time (IST), 11 PM GMT and 10 AM Local Time
Match Timings – 5 AM Indian Standard Time (IST), 11.30 PM GMT and 10.30 AM Local Time.
Television Channel – Star Sports India Network
Live Streaming App – Disney+Hotstar Mobile Application.
India will be under even more pressure after their loss at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Blues lost that encounter by a margin of 184 runs. Now to avoid the series defeat and to stay in the hunt of the WTC fina qualication then they should win the last match of their tour to the Aussie nation.
South Africa is the first team to qualify for the finals of the World Test Championship in 2025 at Lords. The Proteas defeated Pakistan by just two wickets in the series-opening encounter at SuperSports Park in Centurion. Australia is placed at second position and India is the third team on the points table.
India needs to win at Sydney Cricket Ground and hope that Sri Lanka whitewashes the Aussies when they tour the island nation for a two-match series of the red-ball form of the game. That series will start on 29th January 2025. Both test matches will be played at Galle International Stadium in Galle.
Talking about the current WTC champions, Australia, they will not have any worries because they performed brilliantly in the last three matches and the Aussies are also the favourites to go in their second back-to-back finals of the WTC and even win that ICC title for the second time in a row.
Konstas, Smith and Labuschagne did well for Australia. Steve Smith is back to his usual form which is not a good sign for the Indian Team because we all know what Smith can do when he is in form. Australia’s bowling has also been great. Skipper Cummins, Starc, Boland and a lead spinner, Nathon Lyon have been impressive in this series till now.
AUS Vs IND: Playing XI Of Both The Teams For The Final Match Of This Five Match Test Series –
India: Rohit Sharma (C), Yahaswi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul/Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna/Mohammed Siraj/Akash Deep.
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.
AUS Vs IND: Fantasy Playing Team For The SCG Test Match –
Batters – Sam Konstas, Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja
Bowlers – Scott Boland, Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins
All Rounders – Nitish Kumar Reddy and Mitchell Marsh
Wicketkeeper – Alex Carey
Vice Captain – Washington Sundar
Captain – Steve Smith.
Also Read: Test Cricket: How Many Matches Did India Play And Win In The Red Ball Format In 2024?
