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
South Africa Vs Pakistan, 1st Test Day 1 - Toss. Photo: X | Pakistan Cricket
One of the images of the day was Kohli, 36, barging into Konstas after the Australian had clubbed the India bowlers around the ground.Kohli appeared to change d
Sam Konstas stands in the centre of the MCG on a pitch sullied only by his spike marks.Scorecard: Check out all the live scores and statsKohli vs Konstas: Virat
Sam Konstas and Virat Kohli got into an altercation in hte Boxing Day Test (Photo by Robert ... [+] Cianflone/Getty Images)Getty Images Leave it to Virat Kohli,