10th over
Cummins continues. Bowling into the surface and comes high to Rahul, who shoulders arms in the next.
IND 13/1
Starc. Getting a lot of movement. Going down leg in the second and forcing the keeper to dive to the left in the next. Padikkal yet to get off the mark and it looks like it’s starting to get to him. Connects on the last delivery but finds the fielder.
IND 13/1
Skipper Cummins into the attack. Back of a length outside off, Rahul leaves it. Full outside off, beats Rahul’s attempted front foot defence. Full on the stumps, Rahul defends. Rahul gets a wide one through the gap between slip and gully, will pick up two.
IND 11/1
Starc continues. Full and swinging away from Padikkal, shoulders arms and lets it through. A touch shorter, beats Padikkal’s defensive prod. Fuller in length, Padikkal looks to punch it straight, just beats his edge. Maiden over.
IND 11/1
Hazlewood to Rahul, length on the stumps, clipped legside for a double. A solid defence followed by a comfortable leave outside off to round out the over.
IND 9/1 in 5 overs
Starc to Rahul, length ball on leg stump with short leg in place, Rahul defends to mid on. Full length delivery, swinging in to the right-hander, Rahul defends to cover. Rahuk punches a full ball to cover to take a single and keep strike.
IND 8/1 in 4 overs
Hazlewood continues. Back of a length outside off, Rahul lets the ball go. Overpitched outside off, Rahul drives through cover and picks up three.
IND 5/1 in 3 overs
WICKET!! Jaiswal falls for nought! Full outside off, Jaiswal looks for a drive and edges one to gully where debutant McSweeney takes a comfortable catch.
Jaiswal c McSweeney b Mitchell Starc 0(8)
Padikkal in at 3. Squared up on the second ball, whizzes past the outside edge by a fair margin. Too wide to follow up, left alone by Padikkal. Appeals for lbw as Starc goes for the blackhole. Umpire says no, missing legstump.
IND 5/0 in 2 overs
Hazlewood from the other end. Length ball angling in to Rahul, thuds his thigh pads. Length again, well outside off stump, left alone. Full outside off, beats Rahul’s front foot defence. Rahul pulls his bat behind the pad and leaves the full ball outside off. Maiden over.
IND 5/0 in 1 over
Mitch Starc with the new ball in hand. Jaiswal is taking strike with Rahul at the non-striker’s. Full down the legside, runs away for four byes. Jaiswal edges one second ball, falls in front of the cordon. Short of a length on the body, defended solidly. Slightly fuller, on the same line, Jaiswal defends again.
AUS vs IND HEAD-TO-HEAD STATS IN TESTS
Matches: 107
Australia wins: 45
India wins: 32
Drawn: 29
Ties: 1
Time for the anthems!
Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border place the trophy on the stand as the teams gear up for the anthems.
Cummins is keen on taking back the BGT
Surprise selection
India has left out spinners with a combined 855 Test wickets on the bench today in R. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Washington plays his second Test Down Under. A horse for course selection?
Playing XIs
India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(wk), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Toss Update!
India wins the toss and Jasprit Bumrah opts to bat first.
“We are confident about our preparation. Wicket here quickens after the first session. Washington will play as the lone spinner,” says Bumrah.
“It was a 50-50 decision. Any format we play is fiercely fought. WACA has more pace and bounce and hope we get some of that here. Nathan McSweeney debuts,” says Cummins.
Nitish and Harshit get their Test caps
Virat Kohli hands the cap to all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy while R.Ashwin does the honours for Harshit Rana.
Debut for McSweeney
As expected, Nathan McSweeney is presented his baggy green by Darren Lehmann. Huge boots to fill for the youngster but with a solid outing in the A series to back him.
How has the pitch at the Optus Stadium fared?
Perth is known for its pace and bounce. However, the Optus Stadium uses a drop-in pitch, which is prepared away from the ground and later installed into the square. This allows for subtle changes to the nature of the wicket.
This is evident from the improved efficiency spinners have experienced since the switch from the WACA to the Optus Stadium. At the WACA, spinners took 229 wickets in 44 matches at an average of 44. In comparison, spinners have claimed 37 wickets at an average of 33 at the new Perth Stadium.
Despite the slight assistance for spinners, pacers have dominated at the Perth Stadium, taking 102 wickets at an average of 29.71. Pacers have also been utilised far more, bowling 1,014 overs compared to the spinners’ 393.
The pitch curator at the Optus Stadium stated that the wicket will once again offer conditions conducive to fast bowlers.
K. C. Vijayakumar takes us down the BGT memory lane
England may be the old enemy, but for Australia, India is a clear and present danger.
Captain Bumrah has no qualms about his workload
STATS AT OPTUS STADIUM
Matches played: 4
Team batting first won: 4
Team winning toss won: 4
Highest total: Australia 598/4 vs West Indies
Lowest total: Pakistan 89 (30.2 overs) vs Australia
Average 1st innings score: 456
MATCH PREVIEW
Two men fused by their passion for speed, split by nationalities, and thrown together into a sporting rivalry, stretched their hands towards each other. In the background, the sun was beating down on the grass, all golden hue and green tinge, and in the shade a cool breeze demanded respect and woollens.
Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins, froze time for a bit, as the two, with a son each, discussed parenthood and baby-steps. This was life distilled into its best essence. As proud fathers, splendid pacers and rival captains, Bumrah and Cummins then posed with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Optus Stadium here on Thursday noon. And it was time to get ready for a long Australian summer that would gain its sporting high from the five Tests pitting India against Cummins and his men.
When the first Test commences on Friday, one of cricket’s greatest rivalries will get a fresh chapter. The Ashes and the memories about India-Pakistan Tests linger, but there is no discounting the charms, the adrenaline, and the nail-biting climaxes that seem inevitable when India and Australia face off. India arrives after suffering a 0-3 loss in its backyard against New Zealand but history would whisper about the stunning Test series triumphs Down Under in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
- K.C. Vijaya Kumar
Read the full preview by clicking on the image below
Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024: When the first Test commences on Friday, one of cricket’s greatest rivalries between India and Australia will get a fresh chapter.
LIVE STREAMING INFO
When is India vs Australia first Test taking place?
The first Test match between India and Australia will take place between November 22-26. The first day will commence at 7:50 AM IST.
Where to watch the LIVE telecast of India vs Australia first Test?
The LIVE telecast of the first Test match between India and Australia can be watched on the Star Sports network or through the Hotstar app or website.
Good Morning!
Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test between Australia and India at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Stay tuned for all live updates and scores from the game as the day progresses!
