AUS vs IND 2024/25, AUS vs IND 5th Test Match Preview


Big picture: SCG showdown to decide Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Since that first day, when 17 wickets fell in Perth, there has been intrigue in this Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Even the rain-ruined match in Brisbane yielded something unexpected: a sudden withdrawal. As a very entertaining and hard-fought series draws to a close, Australia has a chance to cement its legacy: the reigning ODI and Test world champions have a hand in a trophy that has eluded them for 10 years, and India still have the opportunity. to deny them.

India have been struggling to score first innings runs (their average of 22.40 is the seventh lowest in a season in which they have played at least five Tests) and have had to constantly play catch-up in Australia. However, Sydney is a place they might enjoy. The SCG is no longer the batting paradise it used to be, like when India declared 705 here in 2003, but it still offers 34.85 per wicket, which is better than any other ground in Australia in the last three years. That could be one of the reasons why Australia is bringing in reinforcements for bowling. The brief interval between Boxing Day and the New Year’s tests is another. Beau Webster will make his Test debut in place of Mitchell Marsh.

For a while it looked like India could escape the MCG with a draw. Yashasvi Jaiswal once again proved to be India’s best batsman. At the end of that game, Rohit said that the youngsters still had a little to learn about Test cricket, but they seem to be doing well. Jaiswal is the top scorer of the Indian series. Nitish Kumar Reddy produced his finest hour. Akash Deep has earned the admiration of Steven Smith, but is out of the Sydney Test with back problems. India’s vulnerabilities lie elsewhere.

Forms Guide

Australia: WDWLW (last five matches completed, most recent first)
India: LDLWL

In the spotlight: Rohit Sharma and Pat Cummins

Will Sydney be the last of Rohit Sharma In Test cricket or is it over? India’s victory in Perth came without him. He tried not to upset his momentum by moving towards the middle order, but then felt that was not working well enough. Without enough runs behind him, his on-field decisions backfiring and India’s next Test not until June 2025, when Rohit will be 38, it feels like the end of something. He batted in the nets on Thursday, facing only knockdowns, which is what he also did before the Melbourne Test.

If this series didn’t have Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins He would be their best bowler. After a wayward start in Perth, he looked fired up in Adelaide, keeping alive the rich tradition of fast bowlers and their high-strung celebrations. He was Player of the Match in Melbourne for also contributing with the bat. A win at home in front of what is expected to again be a record crowd to seal a place in the World Test Championship final would be the perfect way to end the season for Cummins.

Team news: Webster enters; Akash out

Mitchell Starc will play in Sydney while managing a side/rib ailment. Webster, who bats right-handed and bowls medium pace and spin, will be Australia’s third debutant in this series after Nathan McSweeney and Sam Konstas. He was the Sheffield Shield’s top scorer last season with 938 runs at 58.62 and took 30 wickets at 29.30.

Australia: 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Sam Konstas, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Beau Webster, 7 Alex Carey (week), 8 Pat Cummins (captain), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Scott Boland, 11 Nathan Lyon

With Akash ruled out with back stiffness, India will have to readjust their bowling attack, with Prasidh Krishna or Harshit Rana set to replace him. There also seem to be changes in the batting line-up as Gill receives direct attention from Gambhir, who bowled him over. Trevally also looks like a chance to make the XI with Washington Sundar possibly out.

India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (captain)/Shubman Gill, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 KL Rahul, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rishabh Pant, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dhruv Jurel, 8 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 9 Prasidh Krishna/Harshit Rana, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Pitch and conditions: a good cricket ground

A day after the Test match, there was some grass on the SCG pitch. The feedback Cummins has received from the two Shield games that have taken place here this season is that it has been a “good cricket ground”, with enough for the bowlers, particularly as it has a bit more pace. The weather for the start of the Test is expected to be clear, although some rain is forecast for the last two days.

Statistics and curiosities

  • Steven Smith is 38 years away from reaching 10,000 tests. He will join Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting as the only Australians to have reached the mark. He will be second fastest among them, behind Ponting with 196 entries, if he gets there in Sydney.

  • Sydney might be his home ground, but Starc’s record here is below par: he has 24 wickets in nine Tests at an average of 44.16.

    • Quotes

    “If someone had said 40 or 45 days ago that we would be in this situation, that we could come to Sydney and draw this series, I would be in a good position.”
    indian coach Gautama Gambhir

    “You go into every test trying to win, so this week is no different. I’m very happy with the last three tests, how the guys played. We’ve shown in most cases that we’ve been the favorites, that’s the goal again this week. progress.”
    captain of australia Pat Cummins

    Alagappan Muthu is Deputy Editor of ESPNcricinfo



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