Boxing Day battle all set to roll as India and Australia eye lead in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
With three Tests done, both India and Australia, two powerhouses of the Test cricketing world, will lock horns again in the hallowed Boxing Day Test at MCG. With sparks and embers taking flight, the planet has been looking forward to another swashbuckling collision of the two forces vying for the prized WTC-final ticket.
India has had their challenges with the bat in recent times, however, will be hoping to see a turnaround of conditions in the Melbourne Cricket Ground. As said earlier by Matthew Hayden and Sunil Gavaskar, the MCG surface will be a good one to bat on and with that being stated, lofty expectations will be pinned on Virat Kohli to fire home another big innings. However, apart from VK, eyes will be on the others as well as the visitors will be hopeful of posting a strong front after a couple of lacklustre displays in the Gabba and Adelaide.
Australia will be a lot more confident, considering the kind of batting that they have had but Jasprit Bumrah’s presence in the Indian ranks will definitely be accentuating their frowns. Both the teams will be desperate to try and sneak a win at MCG as that would better their chances of snatching the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but if there is one thing that defines India and Australia is their mighty fighting spirit and that promises a roller-coaster encounter to take centerstage.
Pitch conditions:
As said earlier by Matt Page, the chief curator of MCG, the surface is going to be a conducive one for the pacers, the ace quicks from both the teams will eye a lip-smacking start if they get a chance to bowl early. However, it has also been stated that once the lacquer comes off the new ball, the batters will have a lot of life left on the track to keep their tempo rolling.
Head to Head:
Matches played: 110
Australia: 46
India: 33
Match Details:
Australia vs India, 4th Test, 2024
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, MCG
Date: 26th December 2024
Time: 5:00 AM
Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (Wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Tanush Kotian, Rishabh Pant (Wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.
Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Sam Konstas, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
