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Rohit Sharma Drops Shubman Gill; Australia Opt To Bat In Boxing Day Test vs India In BGT

Debashis Sarangi

Australia opted to bat first [Source: @zeeshan_naiyer2/X]Australia opted to bat first [Source: @zeeshan_naiyer2/X]

In a significant development, Australia have won the toss and opted to bat first in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India. The hosts have made two changes, replacing Nathan McSweeney and Josh Hazlewood with Sam Konstas and Scott Boland, respectively. 

At toss, Australian captain Pat Cummins reckoned that they would bat first in order to capitalise on the playing conditions at Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

He said, 

"We are going to have a bat today. Looks good, a bit of grass here. Sun is out, feels firm. Yeah, that's right. 1-1, that is what everyone wanted to see. I mean certainly the fans. After Christmas, we are itching to get going. Sammy is debuting and he will be opening the batting. Scott Boland comes in for Josh Hazlewood."

India Drop Shubman Gill; Washington Sundar Returns

On the other hand, the visitors have dropped ace batter Shubman Gill, replacing him with spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar for this Test match. Indian captain Rohit Sharma reckoned that they would've batted first as well, saying, 

"We would have batted first as well. We have to bowl well. The series is at 1-1. A lot to play for. It gives us a perfect opportunity to show what we are as a team. Whatever situation lies in front of you, you have to fight. It's a new day, and we are looking forward to it. We fought really well in the previous game. We have made one change. Shubman Gill misses out. Washington Sundar comes in. Yeah, I will bat at the top of the order."

IND vs AUS 4th Test: Playing XIs

India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Mohammed Siraj

Australia Playing XI: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland