Australia v India: fifth men’s cricket Test, day one – Região de Águeda

31st over: India 71-3 (Kohli 17, Pant 8) Cummins v Kohli. What a duel we have here. Kohli knows it too, tries to make a statement by driving at the first. No runs again. He stabs at the second too but it’s on him quicker this time and it lobs dangerously for a moment before falling short of mid-off. Cummins is into his 10th over. Once again he has this team on his back dragging them to glory. Kohli sense the challenge and on drives a full ball successfully this time. He gets three. Pant digs one out of his navel for a single and Sean Abbott the substitute fielder reels it in.

30th over: India 65-3 (Kohli 13, Pant 6) Almost bowled! Boland angled it at back at Pant’s midriff and he chopped down hard and watched aghast as the ball inside edged, fizzed backwards and bounced just over the bails. Close! Boland has India on the hop and the ball nipping and Pat Cummins brings Travis Head into short leg to up the ante further. Australia now has three slips and two gullies as they press for a fourth wicket.

29th over: India 64-3 (Kohli 12, Pant 6) Glanced for FOUR! Good shot by Pant. It breaks the drought for India. Until that shot, they had only hit three boundaries from 28 overs. Pat Cummins cops it sweet, puts the next few past Pant’s jugular at 138kph.

28th over: India 60-3 (Kohli 12, Pant 2) Boland is aiming for his fourth consecutive maiden. He has 1-5 so far after almost having 2-0 in his first over. Pant works a single from the third ball but Kohli can’t get going. His 12 has from 60 balls and he hasn’t scored from the last 27 balls. He shimmies one off the hip and sets off but Konstas swoops to cut off the run. Screws turning on India.

27th over: India 59-3 (Kohli 12, Pant 1) Rishabh Pant faces up. His reckless slog in the fourth Test was a gift to Travis Head after Mitchell Marsh took a fine tumbling catch in the outer. That sparked a clatter of wickets and cost India a shot at a draw. Can he make amends today? Pant is in his 43rd Test and has an average of 43 so he’s certainly capable. He takes a single to plot his redemption arc as Kohli tries to counter Cummins. A huge off drive to the last but it’s straight to mid-off.

26th over: India 58-3 (Kohli 12), Pant 0) How was your lunch? I’m still going on Christmas ham even though that once-pink haunch is looking a little green around the Shubmans. The only thing greener might be India’s No 3 himself whose last-ball dismissal before the break might have turned his food to ash before he swallowed it.

Scott Boland has the ball and Virat Kohli in his sights. Big Scotty is bang on line and Kohli digests all six without having a waft at any of them. A maiden.

There have been a swathe of emails during the first session. Thanks for all those and apologies for not getting to them sooner.

Sam from New Zealand says the third umpire made the right call disallowing the Kohli catch: “Mark Waugh is having a bit of a meltdown on the TV. They seem to think Smith having a finger under the ball makes it not out, but the rule clearly states that if the ball is moving while touching the ground (which the evidence showed) then it has to be not out. If Smith had a clean grasp on the ball he would have held it, not flicked it up.”

Rowan Sweeney has a darker theory: “Did Australia steal Joel Wilson’s girlfriend or something? At this point it seems personal.”

Meanwhile, Geoff Wignall is questioning whether Rohit Sharma’s decision to rest himself from this fifth Test has added balance to the India XI – or sent it skew-whiff. “On recent form, Sharma ‘resting himself’ ought to strengthen the Indian batting; but Jadeja at 6 and Bumrah at 9? Hmm…”

Thanks Geoff. Given Bumrah scored a pair in the last Test, I think India should have dropped him 😉 Rohit’s “rest” might well be Bumrah’s salvation!

LUNCH: India are 56-3 (Kohli not out 12)

WICKET! Gill c Smith b Lyon 20 (India 56-3)

25th over: India 56-2 (Gill 20, Kohli 11) Lyon to Kohli. Will we see some spark in these final moments?

24th over: India 56-2 (Gill 20, Kohli 11) Increasingly blue skies are piercing the morning’s heavy cloud cover at the SCG to see Beau Webster’s fourth over. India are inching along at just over two per over but if they make the safety of lunch two-down they’ll consider it a moral victory. Another maiden.

23rd over: India 56-2 (Gill 20, Kohli 11) Come in spinner. Nathan Lyon gets a whirl before lunch. He has a long-running duel with Virat Kohli and it resumes now. Kohli watches the first couple before skipping down a step with a wristy whip that runs square. Sam Konstas, who copped a shoulder charge from Kohli his boyhood hero at the MCG, is there to stop runs. The Lyon experiment starts with a maiden.

22nd over: India 56-2 (Gill 20, Kohli 11) Webster is in a nice groove here. Nerves are settling and he’s found a sweet spot outside off stump that has Shubman Gill thinking hard. A well bowled maiden for the debutant.

21st over: India 56-2 (Gill 20, Kohli 11) Edged but safe! Gill flashed at Starc’s first ball but he flashed hard enough to send it over slips and to the boundary for four. Starc’s speed isn’t getting beyond 140kph and there’s still no swing on offer. A single from the last last takes the partnership to 39. A bit of blue sky poking through at the SCG now.

20th over: India 51-2 (Gill 15, Kohli 11) Second over for Beau Webster whose silver earring is catching the light and the eye under the SCG lights. Gill taps a single from the second. Now The Slug has The King on strike but straight and full delivers four dots.

19th over: India 50-2 (Gill 14, Kohli 11) As Mitchell Starc returns to the attack, the Kohli-Gill partnership moves to 26 runs from 65 balls. That’s 64 balls more than it looked to have survived after Kohli edged the first ball he faced to Steve Smith. The decision to disallow that catch is still being debated at the ground and all over the world. But the fact remains: Kohli is still batting. India steal four byes when Starc sends a bouncer flying beyond Alex Carey’s reach. Gill then takes two off the bat with a punch down the ground.

18th over: India 43-2 (Gill 14, Kohli 9) Beau Webster has the ball for his first over in Test cricket. His first ball… is a no ball. His second is driven to mid-off but Cummins stops runs. The 200cm allrounder is sending them down at 125kph and from a height of roughly three metres. There’s a shout for lbw against Gill on ball five but umpire shakes his head. Down leg side. Six dots to close. A tidy welcome to Test cricket for the man they call “The Slug from Snug”.

17th over: India 42-2 (Gill 14, Kohli 9) Cummins is into his seventh over. Can’t be long until Beau Webster gets a bowl here. He has already taken a wonderful catch to help dismiss Yashasvi Jaiswal. Can his right arm medium-fast make an impact today?

We’re getting word that Todd Murphy, Matt Kuhnemann and Peter Handscomb have been called to Sydney to join the squad ahead of the tour of Sri Lanka

16th over: India 42-2 (Gill 14, Kohli 9) Another four to fine leg. This Boland delivery angles across Gill and catches enough thigh pad to run to the rope. Smith doesn’t think a legitimate shot was offered but the runs are on the scoreboard.

15th over: India 38-2 (Gill 14, Kohli 9) Close! But Shubman Gill’s inside edge sails just over the bails and runs for four. Cummins, already a bit snakey after that Kohli catch was denied, swivels quickly and returns to his mark. Next ball is in the corridor and Gill wants to pounce but watches it pass. He then walks across his stumps to steer a run to square leg. Sam Konstas fields with that now trademark grin. I think the kid from Kogarah has officially taken Daniel Ricciardo’s mantle as Greatest Smile in Australian Sport.

14th over: India 33-2 (Gill 9, Kohli 9) If Kohli is feeling lucky after that close call, it isn’t showing. Like a true King he think it’s his sovereign right to let the people watch him bat today. And so we will. But he can’t take Scott Boland for a run in this over.

13th over: India 33-2 (Gill 9, Kohli 9) Plenty of debate raging in the drinks break. As if this crowd wasn’t buzzing anyway, they now have the Greatest Catch Never Taken to talk about. End result: Virat Kohli is still batting and Steve Smith is still is shaking his head. The King takes a single from Cummins to add a grain of salt to the wound.

12th over: India 32-2 (Gill 9, Kohli 8) Boland gets clipped for a single by Gill. Kohli does likewise to the fourth but gives it more mustard. Only a valiant dive by Sam Konstas saves the boundary. But Kohli has moved to eight runs from his 12 deliveries. And now a huge appeal for lbw. Umpire has ruled not out but Australia review…. NOT OUT. Replays show the ball sailing over the stumps.

11th over: India 28-2 (Gill 8, Kohli 5) Pat Cummins continues. And Gill off-drives him down the ground for three. Handsome shot and there’s a sense that India are going to ride their luck now, with both batters showing a willingness to attack the bowling.

10th over: India 23-2 (Gill 4, Kohli 4) Boland returns with 1-0. But it was millimetres from being 2-0 and putting him on a hat-trick. What a moment that might’ve been. And what a talking point in this Test already. Smith certainly believed his catching hand never made contact with the ground. But India fans will doubtless see it as karma after they were on the wrong side of what they perceived to be line-ball decisions in Melbourne. Kohli is off the mark with a driven two and a straight drive to mid-off.

9th over: India 22-2 (Gill 3, Kohli 4) Virat Kohli has survived that catch/ no catch controversy. Can he kick on? The TV images showed Smith diving full stretch low to his right. He got the grippers under the ball it seemed but hard contact with the turf bobbled the ball up and flicked it to Labuschagne at gully. The Australians went crazy but umpire Joel Wilson in the third umpire’s chair said the ball brushed the ground.

8th over: India 17-2 (Gill 2, Kohli 0) Has Boland done it again?! Strike me pink! Kohli has got an edge first ball and Smith has got his fingers under it and sent it up to Webster to catch. Golden duck for King Kohli?! Boland on a hat trick?! Hang on, we will review this … third umpire says NO. Controversy reigns!

WICKET! Jaiswal c Webster b Boland 10 (India 17-2)

7th over: India 16-1 (Jaiswal 10, Gill 2) The first three days of this SCG Test are sold out and a robust crowd have charged in this morning. They see Starc angling in at Jaiswal’s legs. The first two are too straight to have a lash at but the third is fractionally wide down the leg side and allows a run. The “resting” former India captain Rohit Sharma is watching forlornly from the stately SCG visitor’s dressing room alongside Virat Kohlu whio is likely playing his final Test in Australia. Gill steals a single from the last.

Tim Marsland writes in from New Zealand to inform me that my typo has hidden meaning: “A note re the Over 7 comments ..here in NZ a “ whio” is a native “blue duck “. …a new descriptor for a great batsman on their way down the stream?”

6th over: India 14-1 (Jaiswal 9, Gill 1) Shubman Gill is the new batter. He was somewhat controversially omitted from the fourth Test but comes in for the “resting” Rohit Sharma. He averages 42 in India but only 28 away. There’s no doubting his talent but his 32 Tests so far have yielded only an average of 35. He gets off the mark smartly here. A Boland misfield on the last gets Jaiswal another run and retention of the strike.

WICKET! Rahul c Konstas b Starc 4 (India 11-1)

5th over: India 11-0 (Jaiswal 7, Rahul 4) Starc has his pace up to 140kph. Given he’s played all five Tests and the rib niggle he suffered through in Melbourne, Starc will want to ease into his work to last the five days. Australia have Scott Boland as first change and Beau Webster next with his ability to bowl medium pace and off spin. He beats Rahul with a lifting delivery and then goes within a tally-ho of the bat. Tension rising t the SCG.

4th over: India 11-0 (Jaiswal 7, Rahul 4) Cummins gets a fresh look at Rahul. This green pitch still seems a little soft but that hard core will soon make itself known if we get the high heat forecast for days two and three. Rahul takes one off his hip for a run. Jaiswal is then beaten for a fourth time by Cummins. Finally a hint of swing as Jaiswal shoulders arms to a ball that veers back to pass over the stumps. A dangerous, if successful, leave.

3rd over: India 10-0 (Jaiswal 7, Rahul 3) Jaiswal takes a run from Starc. Big Mitch is slowly getting his radar right. Rahul watches a few fly past the edge. Still no discernible swing from Starc as he slides it right to left across the right hander. Rahul leans nicely into the wider final ball, driving to just inside the rope for three.

2nd over: India 6-0 (Jaiswal 6, Rahul 0) Pat Cummins to KL Rahul. Captain Pat’s first ball rears up but Jaiswal’s soft hands and a high elbow keep it down. This SCG pitch looks greener than usual with plenty of live grass bristling on the surface. Here’s a live one as Jaiswal is beaten by the third. The fourth ball is a cross seam peach that slides past the bat and seams in after passing the batter. Another superb lifter leaves Jaiswal swatting air. Finally, Cummins loses his line and Rahul takes it off the pad to get off the mark.

1st over: India 5-0 (Jaiswal 5, Rahul 0) Starc steams in to Jaiswal who gets a firm bat on the first two. Beau Webster has set up camp at third slip and with his 200cm frame and massive wingspan he’ll be an asset in that area. Jaiswal banks his first asset of the day, spanking an attempted yorker on a leg stump line to the boundary. No swing for Starc yet but good lift on the fifth gets Jaiswal hopping. He tamps it into the turf and runs a single. Good play from the youngster who averages 55+ from his 19 Tests.

The Australian team huddle has broken, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul are striding to the middle and Mitchell Starc has the ball. The first Test of 2025 is about to begin.

Batten ‘em down and buckle ‘em up, folks… here we go.

The didj is ringing out and Gadigal elder Alen Madden has our Welcome to Country under way. “For my first song…” he begins to laughter around the ground.

A huge Sydney crowd, who have been early to their seats, give Allen a rousing round of aplause and stand reverent as Shanul Sharma delivers a beautiful national anthem of India. Time for Australia to respond…

Under overcast but rain-free skies, huge queues are snaking into the SCG. Plenty will be disappointed not to be seeing hometown sensation Sam Konstas bat but watching local heroes Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc open the bowling isn’t a bad second prize.

Cummins sees potential in the elements: “Overcast conditions so hopefully we can get the ball to swing around a bit. All the boys have pulled up well after a short turnaround.”

Players are about to set foot on the hallowed Sydney turf for the pre-match ceremonies. India legend Ravi Shastri and former Australia captain Mark Taylor are bringing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to the podium.

Here are the starting XIs

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

India: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rishabh Pant, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna

As expected for India, KL Rahul has been elevated to opener to replace Rohit Sharma. Shubman Gill returns to the side after missing the side in Melbourne and Prasidh Krishna, the 28-year-old quick from Bangalore, will play his third Test.

India have won the toss and will bat at the Sydney Cricket Ground

Last week debutant Sam Konstas lit up the cricket world. The new face in Australia’s XI today is Beau Webster, a 31-year-old allrounder from the town of Snug, Tasmania.

Webster was presented with Baggy Green #469 this morning by the great Mark Waugh and his ascension has been widely praised. Webster has averaged 57.1 with the bat at first-class level since March 2022 and taken 81 wickets at 31.7 in the same period.

Last summer, he scored 938 runs at 58.62 in Sheffield Shield, including three centuries, while also bagging 30 wickets to help Tasmania reach the final. Only one cricketer has bettered those numbers in a Shield campaign – some bloke called Sir Garfield Sobers 😉

This is the Pink Test, a proud tradition since 2009 in which Cricket Australia and the SCG Trust combine with the McGrath Foundation to raise awareness and much needed funds for breast cancer.

Jane McGrath, wife of Australia Test legend Glenn, was a beloved figure. Jane passed away from the disease in 2008 but her legacy is mighty and this week we honour it. The McGrath Foundation has supported more than 150,000 families across Australia and in 2024, it supported 15,720 new families. So farIf you’d like to support the cause please donate. You can buy a Virtual Pink Seat here for the five days of the Test.

Australia’s players have their pink caps on and will present them to Glenn McGrath shortly whereupon they’ll be auctioned off. The cause is close to their hearts and clearly inspires their efforts on the field. Of the 17 Pink Tests, Australia has won nine, drawn seven (including the one India made in the 2020/21 tour) and lost just once.

There has been major intrigue in the India camp all week with conjecture of a team divided and captain Rohit Sharma about to a) “rest” himself for the Test, b) fall on his sword and resign and/ or retire, c) be axed by selectors for the fifth Test, or d) be retained at the behest of higher powers at the BCCI.

Amidst all the action and emotion it’s easy to forget that Sharma missed the first Test in Perth, where Jasprit Bumrah led India to a magnificent win and a 1-0 series lead. Since the 37-year-old Sharma’s arrival, India have looked unbalanced and the once imperious strokeplay of the skipper has been MIA, with scores of 3, 6, 10, 3 and 9.

The plot thickened yesterday when Sharma didn’t show up to the official press conference and India coach Gautam Gambhir did the duties. Gambhir was spotted in long discussions with Bumrah later that day as rumours heated up that Sharma was out. Nor did Sharma field in slips at India’s training session on the SCG yesterday.

Given it’s the first Test of a new year, the Australia and India squads were hosted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Kirribilli House on the first day of 2025.

The weather? It isn’t raining in Sydney although a heavy dew fell overnight and skies are currently grey. There is a slight chance (20%, I’m told) of an early shower but the latest news from the Bureau is that Day One will likely be uninterrupted: a 26C day with light winds of 15-20kph. For the first three days at least, the forecast is all clear.

Given Sydney’s fickle meteorology – 26 days have been washed out at SCG Tests compared with nine for MCG Tests – that’s a great result. Days four and five look dicier, with a typically tempestuous mix of high heat, rain bombs and lightning. But hey, let’s live for the day and worry about that if/ when it happens.

Australia and India have been battling it out on the cricket field since 1947 when Don Bradman (715 runs at 178.75) and Ray Lindwall (18 wickets at 16.88) led Australia to a 4-0 victory.

Over 111 Tests, Australia have won 47, India 33 with 30 draws and one tie. India’s series victories in Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21 shifted the balance of power but Australia’s famous victory at the MCG may signal a new era of dominance.

Regardless of how the next five days play out, both proud nations can set aside their rivalry and declare the cliche as rolled gold truth: Test cricket has been the big winner.

Preamble

Angus Fontaine