India lost openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal early after captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and opted to bat against Australia in overcast conditions and a grassy pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
Virat Kohli arrived at the crease with India at 17/2 in 7.4 overs with the Aussies charged up.
With Kohli getting dismissed caught behind the stumps throughout the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the Aussies had set the trap with a full slip cordon in place.
There is a lot of grass on the pitch. The sun is not out and it is very overcast. The new ball will not be easy for the batters. Konstas batted well at the MCG. Batting with the new ball won't be easy. The captain would ideally want to bowl first.
We were looking to bat as well. But it is overcast and hopefully we will swing the ball early. Sell out in the first few days. Just kept replaying in our heads the last session. Feels like every summer gets bigger and bigger here in Australia. This week is always special. Just one change. Beau Webster is debuting in place of Mitchell Marsh.
We are looking to bat first. We have played some good cricket. The last match was exciting. The grass doesn't look spicy. We always have learnt to digest defeats. We will look forward to this. Our skipper has opted to rest. It shows the unity we have. We have two changes. Rohit has opted out and Prasidh comes in for the injured Akashdeep.
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India skipper Rohit Sharma's continued struggles in Tests in 2024 marked a pivotal downturn in his 11-year long career. Consistent failures against both pace and spin, home and away, coupled with an inability to convert starts, exposed his technical vulnerabilities in the longest format.
A string of low scores in the crucial Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India are trailing 1-2, particularly against quality opposition like Australia, raised questions about his place in the side.
"We're going to have a look at the wicket and finalise it tomorrow." "As I just said, we're going to have a look at the wicket and announce playing 11 tomorrow."
India head coach Gautam Gambhir responded when he was quizzed about the playing XI on eve of the fifth and final Test in Sydney.
It was a typical response but what spiced up proceedings was the fact that he was categorically asked about Rohit Sharma's participation at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Not once, but twice.