Both teams experienced a fair amount of squad changes. Australia lost Josh Hazlewood to an injury, and hence, Scott Boland will replace him in the playing XI, and Nathan McSweeny was dropped from the team, as 19-year-old Sam Konstas was added in his stead and has been confirmed to make his international debut on Thursday. For India, Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement at the end of the Gabba Test last week and flew back home, as the team named uncapped Tanush Kotian as his replacement.

A look at Melbourne weather forecast

With a houseful at the MCG on all five days of the match, fans can heave a huge sigh of relief. There is barely any chance of rain until Monday, December 30. According to Accuweather, the forecast for the first three days is cloudy, with the probability of rain being 0 to 2 per cent on the opening two days. However, an evening shower could be expected on Day 3, with the probability increasing to 24 per cent. However, the weather is expected to be mostly sunny on the final two days.

How will MCG Test affect WTC final qualification?

If India, currently placed third in the table with 55.88 PCT after nine wins in 17 matches, lose or draw the fourth Test, they could be eliminated from the race to the WTC final. However, a win could still leave them on the verge of making the WTC final for the third straight time.

Australia, who will also play a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka at home in January, will need two wins and a draw in their remaining games as part of the cycle.