The coin has gone in Pat Cummins’ favour and Australia will bat. So, that means Sam Konstas will be in early against Bumrah and Co. Good luck to him! The heat is going to be a factor, with temperatures likely to soar as high as 40 degrees on the Celsius scale.
Cummins says, “The pitch looks good. There’s a bit of a grass like an old MCG wicket, looks nice and firm. The sun is out, 1-1, which is what everyone wanted to see. It’s been a great series so far.” He confirms Konstas’ debut and that Scott Boland comes in for Josh Hazlewood.
Rohit Sharma says that he would have batted as well. “We have to bowl well. The series is 1-1 and a lot to play for. We fought really well in that game [Brisbane].” Rohit also confirms that Shubman Gill misses out, and that he will bat at the top of the order. Also India have gone with two spinners, with Washington Sundar coming in.
Playing XIs
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins(capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep
