Hello and welcome to Sportstar's Live Coverage of Australia vs India, Fourth Test at the Gabba, Brisbane.
India vs Australia, 4th Test Day 2 Live Cricket Score
India vs Australia Day 1 Highlights
India vs Australia, 4th Test, Brisbane, Scorecard
Stumps | Day 1 - Australia 274/5 after 87 overs
A long day comes to an end with an inexperienced Indian bowling attack doing a good job having scalped five Australian wickets. The star of the day was Marnus Labuschagne who slammed a brilliant century after being handed a couple of lives and Australia could had been six down, had Shardul Thakur collected a return catch off his own bowling. Debutants Washington Sundar and T Natarajan picked wickets but Navdeep Saini is in the hospital for scans. Overall both teams share honours on Day one. Do join us for Day two at 05:30 AM on Saturday.
Australia 259/5 after 85 overs: The new ball is five overs old and India yet to break the partnership between Paine and Green which is worth 47 off 117. Natarajan and Siraj continue to bowl probing lines.
Second New Ball Taken by India
Australia 246/5 after 80 overs: Shardul Thakur walked off the field briefly and returned only to drop a simple catch off his own bowling as Cameron Green survives. The second new ball is available with another 30 minutes of play left.
Australia 235/5 after 75 overs: Shardul Takur purchased swing and there was a hint of movement in the air as both Cameron Green and Tim Paine are trying to get their eye in. Washington Sundar has gone a bit flat after bowling his 19yth over as Green charges down the track and smacks the spinner for a welcome boundary.
Australia 218/5 after 70 overs: Time for Drinks and India will believe they are in the game with the wickets of Wade and Labuschagne. The new ball will be available in some time but if India can get a wicket here, they will run into the Australian tail.
Australia 213/5 after 66 overs: WICKET - Natarajan strikes again and this time he gets the prized scalp of Labuschagne, who departs for a brilliant 108 off 204 deliveries. The two quick wickets has helped India bounce back and credit to Natarajan for sticking to the back of length as Labuschagne goes for the pull shot only to get a top-edge and Rishabh Pant takes the catch.
Australia 200/4 after 64 overs: WICKET - Maiden Test wicket for T Natarajan and he has been rewarded for persisting with the right length and bowling in the right areas. Back of length delivery, Wade goes for the pull but gets a top-edge and Shardul Thakur takes a good catch at mid-on.
Australia 198/3 after 63 overs: Labuschagne reaches his century and what a player he has been for Australia. Missed it out in Sydney but not here and his century has put Australia in the driver's seat. Gets a standing ovation and he richly deserves it. The drop by Rahane and Pujara is clearly hurting India.
Australia 178/3 after 60 overs: India a bowler short and with Labuschagne well-set Ajinkya Rahane needs to ring in some changes as India needs to not only break the stand but also need to bring the run-rate down. Labuschagne into the nineties.
Australia 157/3 after 55 overs: Washington Sundar begins the proceedings and he has done a good job so far but will be aiming to pick another wicket. Shardul Thakur will be partnering Sundar and the medium pace bowler will hope the pitch offers some movement.
Right then we are back for the final session and India is missing the services of Saini, who is being monitored by the BCCI medical team for a groin injury. India needs wickets to pull things back.
TEA Day 1: Australia 154/3 - Australia's session as despite the wicket of Steve Smith, Labuschagne and Wade have steadily scored runs and kept the scorecard moving with the former continuing his rich form and scoring yet another half-century. Labuschagne was dropped twice - once by Rahane and then by Pujara and he is now batting on 73 off 167 deliveries and along with Wade has forged an unbeaten 67-run partnership off 121 deliveries. India will aim to bounce back when they return for the final session.
Australia 137/3 after 51 overs: The fifty-run partnership is up between Wade and Labuschagne with the former settling in nicely. India needs to get a couple of wickets to put pressure back on Australia. For the moment, both batsmen are playing comfortably without taking any risks.
Australia 121/3 after 47 overs: What a series Labuschagne is having and he gets to yet another half-century. He was dropped twice - once by Rahane and then on 48 Pujara put down a tough chance and the batsman cashed in on the lives. Labuschagne has played some excellent shots en route to his fifty - anything short, the batsman has exhibited some solid pulls and has driven the full deliveries firmly down the ground. He is going to hurt India and Natarajan almost had his debut wicket but has to wait.
Australia 110/3 after 45 overs: Excellent from Sundar as he bowls yet another maiden and India has done well to keep a lid on the scoring. However, the partnership between Labuschagne and Wade is steadily growing and India will hope to break the stand. Wade has been circumspect in his approach and is taking his time to settle in.
Australia 103/3 after 40 overs: The 100 comes up for Australia as Matthew Wade joins Labuschagne and is off the mark. Natarajan is back into the attack and Sundar is bowling an excellent line, trying to purchase some turn. Labuschagne is five runs short of his half-century.
Australia 94/3 after 36 overs: Dropped! Ajinkya Rahane has dropped Labuschagne and the India skipper has handed the in-form batsman a golden life. Excellent delivery from Saini as he gets the ball to straighten up and Labuschagne had to play, gets a thick outside edge and Rahane at gully spills an easy catch. Bad news for India as Saini has walked out of the field and Rohit Sharma completed the over.
Australia 91/3 after 35 overs: WICKET - Washington Sundar strikes and he picks his maiden Test wicket and he will remember for a long time as it's the prized scalp of Steve Smith. Excellent captaincy from Rahane as he brings in the spinner for a new spell and the debutant strikes straightaway. Tossed up delivery and Smith flicks straight to Rohit Sharma at short mid-wicket. India break the stand and what a moment in the game.
Australia 69/2 after 28 overs: The fifty-run partnership between Smith and Labuschagne is up and there was a slight hesitation between the duo, a mix-up that could have proved costly but at the end both batsmen were safe. India needs to break this partnership as the middle-order is brittle.
We are back for the second session and India will hope to break the stand as both Smith and Labuschagne look set and will look to build on with the pitch looking good for batting. It will be Saini to Labuschagne.
Lunch Day 1: Australia 65/2 after 27 overs | India's session as despite losing the toss Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur have picked a wicket each and have sent back the openers. The experienced pair of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith are out in the middle and have rebuild the innings after the early loss of wickets. India will be hoping to separate the pair when they return after the Lunch break... Back in 40...
Australia 64/2 after 25 overs: Smith and Labuschagne are motoring on nicely but Washington Sundar has started well on debut, sticking to the middle and leg-stump line and has a similar field like that of Ashwin including a short-leg for bat-pad catches. India needs a breakthrough before Lunch and can't afford to allow Smith and Labuschagne dictate terms.
Australia 57/2 after 19 overs: Steve Smith has found his rhythm and is continuing from where he has left in the last Test as 50 comes up for Australia. Frustration for Shardul as he induces an outside edge but Smith was lucky to evade the fielder as the ball raced away to the backward square leg boundary. However, the modern day great ends the over with a wonderful straight drive and the timing was simply exceptional.
Australia 39/2 ater 15 overs: Top stuff from Shardul and Siraj as both bowlers have picked a wicket each and have bowled two maidens respectively. The line has been brilliant from both the bowlers and this is going to be a testing spell. Steve Smith, meanwhile, is off the mark and has dispatched the red ball to the fence twice.
Australia 22/2 after 10 overs: India has packed off both the openers as Shardul Thakur strikes and he removes Marcus Harris. Bowls an inswinger, Harris plays the flick but Washington Sundar at square leg takes an excellent catch and India off to an excellent start.
Australia 15/1 after 6 overs: Excellent start from India as T Natarajan bowls in tandem with mohammed Siraj - who is the leader of the attack - and the duo have maintained a tight line. MArcus Harris is joined by Marnus Labuschagne.
Australia 4/1 after 1 over: What a start for India as Mohammed Siraj strikes early and gets the prized scalp of David Warner. Siraj bowls it full, induces an edge and Rohit dives low to his right to take an excellent catch. Top start by India.
Playing XI
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Mayank Agarwal, Rishabh Pant(w), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, T Natarajan
Australia: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matthew Wade, Cameron Green, Tim Paine(w/c), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Toss: Australia won the toss and opted to bat first
Ashwin, Bumrah, Jadeja, Vihari are out. Thakur, Mayank, Natarajan and Sundar are playing.
Gabba Test: Injury-hit India aims to breach Australia's fortress in series decider
Australia hasn't lost a cricket Test match at the Gabba since 1988. India has never won a Test match at the Brisbane venue.
Some say it's a fortress for Australian cricket. Others have dubbed it the Gabbatoir, a colloquial reference to the home team carving up.
With the Border-Gavaskar series tied 1-1, all hinges on the last match starting Friday, as an injury-plagued India is determined to make some history.
Just who India will pick in the starting XI will have to wait until match morning, with most concern over pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.
Both teams have struggled with injuries and spending months either in quarantine or under travel and accommodation restrictions.
Squads:
Australia Squad: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matthew Wade, Cameron Green, Tim Paine (w/c), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Travis Head, Michael Neser, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Swepson, James Pattinson
India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Mayank Agarwal, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, T Natarajan, Wriddhiman Saha, Kuldeep Yadav, Prithvi Shaw
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