IND vs AUS, 4th Test Day 1 HIGHLIGHTS: Khawaja, Green lead Australia past 250

India vs Australia Live Score 4th Test Day 2 Updates

A boundary and a single off Shami’s over as Australia finishes the day on 255 with the loss of four wickets. This is solid batting from the visitors as Indian bowlers will have to regroup and have to come up with another plan if they want to stay in the game.

Shami to Khawaja, he tucks it away fora boundary to get to his 14th Test century, first in India. Well done, what an innings this has been for him. A near perfect innings from the Australian opener to keep India at bay on the first day.

Jadeja to Green, FOUR! Green slams for another boundary. Two singles in the last five balls. Six runs comes from it.

A single off the first ball. Ashwin to Green, FOUR! There is no stopping to Green here right now as this time he drives the ball to mid-off. Six runs comes from the 88th over.

A reactive change from Rohit as he replaces the expensive Shami by Ravindra Jadeja. Green takes single as Jadeja offers him width and he drives it at long-off. Khawaja gives the strike back to Green after defending two middle-line deliveries. Only two single comes from this over.

Ashwin from other end, gives only a single.

Shami continues from the other. Shami to Green, FOUR! Change in intent from Green as he is going for quick runs as Khawaja has been playing the anchor role from the other end. He pulls the short ball over mid-on. Shami decieves Green with another short ball which lands in the no-man-land, a sigh of relief for Green as he survives to face another ball. Shami is bombarding Green with short balls as this time he pulls at long-on for a double. Shami to Green, FOUR! Green drives the full-length ball on off and the ball races past Rohit at covers for second boundary of the over. He takes a single from the last ball as 11 comes from the over.

Only two overs of pace as Rohit calls Ashwin back into the attack with the new ball. A tough long day for the ballers in the scorching heat of Ahmedabad. Ashwin bowls four tights balls, giving only a single before Khawaja takes two doubles from the last two balls. He moves to 96.

Shami from the other end. Shami goes over the wicket for Khawaja. A single via bye follows after a couple of dot deliveries. Green gives back the strike to Khawaja. Shami to Khawaja, FOUR! Khawaja flicks this one in the deep backward square region to move into ninties.

Umesh starts with a full-length ball, outside off and Green drives it past covers for a couple of runs. Umesh to Green, FOUR! This time Green makes room for himself and slashes the short ball which races away behind points for a boundary. Yadav to Green, FOUR! Green slams Umesh for another boundary, this time he waited for the ball to come and plays a glorious straight drive for second four of the over. Expensive over from Yadav as 12 comes off it.

Rohit Sharma goes for the second new ball and it will be Umesh Yadav who will have the new ball in hand.

A single on the second delivery as Australia reaches the 200-run mark. Only two runs off the over as Australia looks solid at the moment.

Khawaja finally scores the first run in 23 balls. Although short of wickets, the Indian bowlers have kept the batters at bay, not letting them get away with runs. Only one run from the over

Following a maiden from Ashwin, Axar continues. Another maiden! Three on the trot

Axar replaces Shami. Maiden over

Ashwin continues. Short leg in place for Green and it is Kohli near the batter. Green advances down the track for a single. Pitched up and Khawaja opens the face of the bat and hits it through covers for a FOUR. Finishes with a dot.

Shami continues. Jagged back in and Green plays a front foot defense. Green has been having problems with the short ones and Shami has been varying his length quite a bit for the right hander. Over pitched and Khawaja flicks it on the onside and picks up a boundary! DRINKS

Ashwin is in and has replaced Jadeja. Short and wide, Green rocks back and slaps it through the offside for a FOUR to end the over

Two slips for Cam Green. Shami s trying to tempt him to go for a slash by constantly bowling wide outside off. Quicker through the air and short, Green is beaten for pace. FInishes the over on a high with a beautiful stroke through off side for a FOUR!

Jadeja continues and Khawaja welcomes him with a FOUR through the covers! Jadeja has kept it simple throughout, bowl it to the stumps, don’t leak runs and hope for a wicket. And that has been paying dividends.

Shami into the attack, replaces Umesh. Shami follows the same gameplan as he chooses to bowl short as well, Khawaja ducks to safety. WHAT A DELIVERY FROM SHAMI! PERFECTLY SET UP! HANDSCOMB DEPARTS! Slightly angled in, Handscomb tried a back footed defence but misses as the ball blazed past him and on to the off stumps! Cameron Green is the next man in. Three slips in place. Just outside off, Green decides to leave it alone but goes agonisingly close past the stumps.

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Peter Handscomb b Mohammed Shami 17 (27b 3x4 0x6)

Just one run off Jadeja’s over

Umesh continues. Three dots to starts things off. Looks like Jadeja has strained his neck as he is helped with a hot pack, nothing serious though. Brilliant pull from Handscomb off a short delivery, disecting two fielders to put it past the boundary line. Umesh goes short again and Handscomb plays a pre-medidated pull yet again to get another FOUR!

Jadeja continues. Aggressive field setup from Rohit with a silly point in place. Handscomb finally breaks the shackles for Australia with a FOUR on the onside!

Umesh continues to bowl short and it is doing what he intended, keeping the batter guessing, Handscomb gets a single. Khawaja is not getting tempted by the short ones, he has been doing his best to evade those effectively. Dot to finish

Tidy over from Jadeja, just one run came off it

Umesh continues. Keeps it low and straight but Handscomb defends it at the last moment. Shuffles things up with a bouncer that surprised Handscomb. Good little passage of play for India since the start of this session. Short again but this time Handscomb hooks it for a single.

Jadeja is asked to bowl. Down the legs, Khawaja sweeps it for a single. PLAYED ON!!!! JADEJA WITH THE MUCH NEEDED BREAKTHROUGH! SMITH HAS TO WALK BACK. A regulation straight delivery, Smith tried to defend but it took an inside edge onto the pads and went on to hit the stumps, unlucky! Peter Handscomb is in at five. He gets off the mark straightaway with a single. Dot to finish the over.

Steven Smith b Jadeja 38 (135b 3x4 0x6)

Umesh to Khawaja and it is a single to start things off. Umesh bowls short, Smith tries to hook it but it takes an inside edge, too close to comfort. Finishes with a dot.

Khawaja and skipper Smith walk into the middle. Umesh will bowl his 11th over

Our correspondent Shayan Acharya from Ahmedabad with the second session review:

Usman Khawaja brought up his 22 nd Test half-century with a boundary off Mohammed Shami to guide Australia to 149-2 at tea.

Having lost two quick wickets before lunch and the run-flow drying up, Khawaja (65 not out, 180b, 10x4) stood firm and forged a 77-run partnership with Steve Smith (38 not out, 129b, 3x4) to ensure that there was no further slip-up.

With the temperatures soaring, the two held fort as the Indian bowlers struggled to find breakthroughs on a surface that hardly aided them.

In what would probably be his last Test in India - as he has indicated himself - Smith batted in the Baggy Green and made sure that he backed Khawaja and helped the team rebuild.

A surprising move from the Indian skipper as Shreyas Iyer is asked to bowl. Iyer starts off with a full toss which Smith hits for a single. Width offered and Khawaja punches it through offside for another single. Finishes the over with a dot. TEA BREAK

Jadeja bowls his 13th over. Two singles coming from it as we are nearing the tea break.

A maiden over from Axar Patel.

Jadeja continues. Only one run comes from the over as the run rate is under 2.5 at the moment for the visitors, but they have wickets in hand and two set batters in the middle who are looking solid after playing almost 40 overs together.

Australia is in a very comfortable position. Both batters look in no hurry as runs are coming at their own pace. Only a single off Axar’s over though.

A couple of singles from the over of Jadeja.

Axar to Khawaja, FOUR! Way too short as Khawaja gets an ample bit of time to place the outside-off ball over extra cover for a boundary. A single follows as five runs come off this over.

Jadeja gives two singles from his over.

Axar Patel comes back for Ashwin. Spin in tandem from both ends. A tight over from him to give only a single.

Change in approach from Rohit as he brings Jadeja back into the attack for Shami, who has been a bit expensive in his last spell. Only a single off Jadeja’s over.

Second maiden over in succession for Ashwin.

Shami to Smith, FOUR! Brilliant shot by the Australian captain to smack Shami over the backward square for a boundary.

A maiden over from Ashwin follows after an expensive over from Shami.

Shami to Khawaja, FOUR! And with this , he finally reaches his well-deserved fifty. His 22nd fifty as this time he takes his time and scores a 146-ball 50. Khawaja flicks the next ball over mid-wicket to take three runs off it. Fuller length ball and Khawaja plays it late. Seven runs off Shami’s over.

Ashwin to Smith, FOUR! Cheeky, from Smith as he guides the ball, which was going down the leg for a boundary behind the long leg. Five runs off Ashwin’s over.

Mohammad Shami comes into the attack for Axar Patel. Smith guides a full-length ball off the backfoot to get a couple of runs in the first delivery. Both batters look in good touch as India will need a faint bit of luck in order to get a much-needed breakthrough here. Smith takes three double off Shami’s first over of this spell. Six runs coming from it.

Usman Khawaja is looking for a couple of runs to get to his fifty, but Ashwin cramps him by keeping the line close to his off-stump. One single comes from this over, and it is time for a drinks break.

Another over, again only one run coming from it.

Ashwin keeps it tight and gives only one run in this over.

Two singles off Axar’s over.

Finally, Australia crosses the 100-run mark in the 42nd over. From being 87 in the 32nd over, Australia took ten overs to reach the first milestone. Ashwin to Khawaja, FOUR! The first boundary in the last 40 balls as this time Khawaja whips the good length ball on the on-side as the ball races away for a boundary in the square leg region.

A decent passage of play from India. No wickets, but the bowlers have put a break on the flow of runs. Five singles follow a single off Axar’s over.

India is able to keep things tight in the last few overs. Both batters have not taken any unnecessary risk. Only a single coming from this over.

Change from both ends. Spin twins here as Axar Patel comes in for Umesh Yadav from the Adani end. Smith tries to beat the cover fielder on the third ball but Rohit shows quick hands and his agility saves India four runs this time. Smith beats Rohit the next ball to take a single as Australia moves towards the 100-run mark slowly but steadily.

Change in bowling as Ravichandran Ashwin has been brought in for Ravindra Jadeja. He keeps the line close to the stumps and starts with a maiden.

Umesh bowls four dots balls before he changes his angle, going left to the umpire to over the wicket. One single off this over.

Solid over from Jadeja, only a single coming in this over.

Umesh to Smith, FOUR! Classy shot from the captain as he uses his wrist to open up the face of the bat and guides the ball for a boundary. Only a boundary coming from this over.

Jadeja from the other. He keeps a much-better line to keep things under his control. Two singles off his over.

Umesh continues. Only a single come in this over.

Usman Khawaja looks quite comfortable in these conditions. He goes back to slam Jadeja for a four at deep backward square region. A single follows as Australia takes five off this over.

Rohit brings Umesh Yadav from the other end. A tight line from Yadav to start as he gives only a single in his first over of this spell.

Ravindra Jadeja starts after lunch. Smith takes the single off the first ball as before Khawaja punishes the bad line ball for a boundary past fine leg. A single in the last four balls as Australia moves forward.

Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith walk out after the break to face Ravindra Jadeja who starts the proceedings for India with the ball post-lunch.

Our correspondent Shayan Acharya pings: Australia had a perfect start to the fourth and final Test - winning the toss and opting to bat - before India pulled things back in the second hour and headed to lunch at 75-2.

As a record crowd turned up for the fixture despite the temperatures soaring, Australian openers Travis Head and Usman Khawaja made the most of the surface - that looked flat and did not aid the bowlers much - to forge a 61-run stand before Ravichandran Ashwin found a breakthrough.

Head (32, 44b 7x4 0x6) looked settled, and crafted his innings with seven fours, but a shimmy down the wicket for a big shot and failing to get the desired elevation saw him being caught by Jadeja.

Soon after, Shami dislodged Marnus Labuschagne’s leg stump, as Australia’s run-flow dried down after initial aggression. The last ten overs produced only eight runs.

While Khawaja (27 not out, 94b, 5x4) looked solid in the middle, India stumper KS Bharat had a disappointing day, dropping a sitter of Head. Off a Umesh Yadav’s wobbly delivery outside the off, Head poked it away from his body, but Bharat fumbled and dropped a rather easy catch. Head made the most of it and went on building a strong opening partnership.

Axar Patel is into the attack, replaces Shami. Another maiden over and it is time for LUNCH. Good comeback from India after missing out on an early breakthrough and sloppy fielding. Khawaja going strong, facing almost 100 deliveries and is unbeaten at 27 alongside captain Smith.

Ashwin bowls a quick maiden

Maiden from Shami

Couple of runs off Ashwin’s over. It’s been four overs and Australia is yet to score a boundary, speaks volumes about India’s improvement comapred to a rather ordinary bowlindg display prior to the drinks break

Much better lines from Shami considering his initial phase, keeps it tight for Khawaja and bowls a maiden over

Quicker through the air, Smith tries a front foot defense but misses, Bharat dislodges the bails and appeals but the square umpire thinks otherwise. Maiden from Ashwin

Some fast bowling action again as Shami replaces Jadeja. Three slips in place for Labuschagne. PLAYED ON! Just outside off, Labuschagne tried to drive it through the covers but it takes an inside edge and uproots the leg stump! One run and a wicket from that over

Marnus Labuschagne b Mohammed Shami 3 (20)

Maiden over from Ashwin

Jadeja tosses it up to Labuschagne, who plays a late defense to avert any danger. Maiden over

Ashwin continues. Drifting on to the pads and Khawaja whips it away towards square leg for a FOUR!

Jadeja concedes just one from the over

Five dot balls and the pressure was catching up but Ashwin bowls a loose short delivery on the final ball, Khawaja capitalises and hooks it away for a FOUR!

Maiden over from Jadeja

ASHWIN GETS THE BREAKTHROUGH FOR INDIA! HEAD FALLS! He comes down the wicket and tries to go over mid on but hits it straight to Jadeja who grabs it without trouble! Marnus Labuschagne comes in at three. One run and a wicket from that over

Travis Head c Jadeja b Ashwin 32 (44b 7x4 0x6)

Ravindra Jadeja is into the attack, replaces Umesh. Short ball and Khawaja finds the gap on the on side and dispatches it for a FOUR! Brilliant first session for Australia as the batters are collecting boundaries every over

Ashwin makes the same mistake, bowls it to Khawaja’s pads, he capitalises and puts it away for a FOUR! Drinks break

Umesh continues. Jagged back in but Head rocks back and swings it through the covers for a FOUR! Drifting on to the pads and Head guides it towards fine leg for another FOUR! Poor planning from Umesh. Head tops it off with yet another FOUR! Massive over for the Aussies

Ashwin targets the pads, Khawaja plays a back foot flick and gets a couple of runs. Brilliant piece of work from Shubman Gill at short fine leg, Khawaja tried to punch through leg.

Umesh replaces Shami. Straight delivery and Head goes through the line and drives it for a wonderful FOUR! Outside off, Head leans towards the ball and plays it through the covers for another FOUR!

Ashwin replaces Umesh. Khawaja plays a front foot defense and the ball crashes on to his pads, huge appeal from the Indians but the ball looked like it went down the leg. Maiden over

Angling away outside off, Head swings and the ball misses his bat by a whisker. Head gets another FOUR courtesy of a sloppy work from the mid-off fielder. India needs to regroup and be more clinical if it intends to get a breakthrough, that has not happened so far!

Umesh starts off with two dots. Room offered and Khawaja punches it through covers for a couple of runs.

Shami continues. Tidy over, just one came from it

Driven through the offside and yet another superb save from a diving Rohit, two runs for Head. Angled at the pads and Head uses the pace of the ball and flicks it for a FOUR! BHARAT DROPS A SITTER! Pitched outside off, takes an outside edge off Head but Bharat squanders an easy chance!

Shami starts off with a couple of dots. Outside off, Head drives and drives hard but a brilliant bit of fielding from Rohit, saves three runs as Head settles for a single. Shami oversteps and it is a NO BALL!

Umesh is yet to concede a run so far, 10 balls bowled. Umesh utilising his variations to full use as he bowls yet another maiden.

Shami continues. Alters his line just enough with a fullish delivery to beat Khawaja first up. On the pads, Khawaja flicks it deep to Ravi Aswhin for a single. Good bit of inswing, beats both the batter and the keeper and runs away for four byes! Mediocre effort from Bharat behind the stumps

Umesh Yadav to bowl the next. Starts off with a couple of dots. Umesh continues to test Head, keeping it in and around the off stump area. And that’s a maiden

Shami starts off with an erratic wide that Virat Kohli grabs at second slip! Good couple of deliveries to follow, kept it tight and on the pads, troubling Head. Yet another loose delivery but this time it beats keeper KS Bharat and runs away for four byes! Slightly outside off, takes an outside edge off Khawaja and drops short of Shreyas in the slips and goes for another FOUR! Not the ideal start that Shami would’ve expected, 10 from that over

Usman Khawaja and Travis Head will open for Australia while Mohammad Shami is ready with the new ball.

After a meet and greet session betwen the players and the Prime Ministers, it is time for the national anthems. Australia’s anthem plays first

Matthew Hayden to broadcasters: The pitch looks different to the one used against England. It looks well rolled, there is an even covering of grass and there are a few dry patches on the surface. Looks slightly damp as it’s early in the morning. The spinners have loved to operate in these conditions. The surface is going to break up as the game progresses. Plenty of wickets in it for the spinners, but it will play better than the previous pitches used in the series.

Steve Smith (c), Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Matthew Kuhnemann

Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav

Steve Smith calls head, head it is as Australia wins the toss and elects to bat first.

Rohit Sharma and Steve Smith are out for the toss.

• Wicketkeepers: Peter Handscomb
• Batters: Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Rohit Sharma
• All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Travis Head
• Bowlers: Nathan Lyon (c), Mohammed Shami, Matthew Kuhnemann
• Team Composition: IND 5:6 AUS Credits Left: 6.5

• Australia - No. 1 Test team
• India - No. 2 Test team

• India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj

• Australia: Steve Smith (c), Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Matthew Kuhnemann

• Australia: Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (captain), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson

• India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat

The Narendra Modi Stadium - the largest cricket ground in the world, named after the Indian Prime Minister - will don a festive look when India and Australia square off on Thursday in the fourth and final Test.

With Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in attendance, the Test match has been presented as a setting to celebrate the friendship between the two countries over the last 75 years.

There are posters of the PMs in each and every corner of the ground; a stage has been set for a gala programme and a gold-plated golf cart will give a tour of the ground to the PMs - creating the perfect aura that a high-profile Test match deserves.

As nearly 110,000 spectators are expected to be present on the opening day, it will be a challenge for the teams to cut out the noise and focus on the game. A nine-wicket defeat in the third Test in Indore has made this a must-win game for India in a bid to book a World Test Championship final berth.

In a respite to the batters, the surface promises to offer even bounce - a sharp contrast to the rank-turners that dominated the first three games of the series. Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith believes that of the surfaces that he has played so far in the series, the one here will potentially be the ‘flattest on Day One’. And, that certainly would make it an even contest.

India’s batting would revolve around captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. With the ball turning from the word go, it was a challenge for the batters to step up, but now with a WTC final spot at stake, India would be hoping for its star-studded line-up to be consistent. So far in the series, the team losing the toss has gone on to win the matches, and that’s something the Indian captain has also taken note of.

However, he does not want to believe that the toss is a factor. For him and the team, the mantra is to - “bring your best skills, play best cricket and win the game.”

After a century in the series opener, Rohit has failed to convert his starts, with scores of 32, 31, 12 and 12. Kohli - one of the greatest ambassadors of the format - has struggled in the series with just 111 runs, despite a promising start a couple of times. It has been more than three years since Kohli last scored a century - against Bangladesh in Kolkata in 2019 - and about 15 Test innings since he last scored a half-century in the longer format, and so far, the batter has struggled against spin. After scores of 7, 0, 31 and 1, Pujara fought back with a gritty 59 in the second innings of the Indore Test as his teammates failed to get going, and in the final Test, he will be looking to keep the momentum going.

For the touring team, spinners Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy and Matthew Kunhemann have enjoyed great success, picking 38 wickets in total, and did not allow the Indian batters to settle down in the Indore Test. Smith defended the decision to play three spinners, despite the criticism from some former players, but indicated that a call on whether to continue with three tweaks is yet to be made.

So, in such a situation, it needs to be seen whether Australia picks an extra pacer - Scott Boland or Lance Morris - to get the balance right. With a tinge of green, the Ahmedabad pitch could favour pacers, tempting the visiting team to pick an additional seamer.

The batting has lacked consistency, but in a key game, the side hopes to tick the right boxes and spoil India’s strong record at home.

Amid the celebrations and excitement, an intense clash awaits.

When to watch IND vs AUS 4th Test?

• The IND vs AUS 4th Test will start on Thursday, March 9 from 9:30 AM IST.

Where is IND vs AUS 4th Test happening?

• The IND vs AUS 4th Test will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Where to watch IND vs AUS 4th Test on TV?

• The IND vs AUS 4th Test will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network in India.

Where to live stream IND vs AUS 4th Test?

• The streaming of the IND vs AUS 4th Test will be available on the Disney+ Hotstar app.