India, Australia set for crucial Sydney clash as series intensifies

Overview

Australia v India, 3rd Test
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Thursday, 7 January – Monday, 11 January, 10.30am local time, 11.30pm (-1) GMT

This may well be the most crucial match of the series. The side that wins this Test will ensure they won’t lose the series, and with a significant break since India won the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, both teams have had a chance to rest up and recalibrate their plans.

On the face of it, Australia will be confident of taking the lead in the series. Ahead of the Test, Justin Langer, their coach, said David Warner was “very, very, very likely to play” while they are also expected to slot Will Pucovski into their XI, most likely as an opener, which would mean Matthew Wade would shift down the order.

Meanwhile, India are set to welcome back their own high-flying opener. Rohit Sharma has been named in the XI in place of Mayank Agarwal, who has struggled so far in this series. Rohit averages over 92 while opening the batting in Tests, although all his five Tests as opener have been at home, and India will hope he can see them through the new ball and set things up for the rest of the batsmen.

India have also named another debutant pacer for the Sydney Test. Navdeep Saini is set to make his Test debut after being named in the XI as a replacement for the injured Umesh Yadav, and India fans will hope he can cope as well as Mohammed Siraj did on his debut in Melbourne.

Remember the last time:

India headed into the second Test of the series without their talisman Virat Kohli and with the wounds of 36 all out still raw. However, they coped commendably. Under Ajinkya Rahane’s shrewd captaincy, India’s bowlers nipped out Australia for 195 before their batsmen – with Rahane leading the way with a battling century – posted 326.

In the second innings, Australia once again struggled against India’s attack – both pace and spin – and India were left with a target of 70 runs to win on the fourth day. They managed that with eight wickets to spare.

What they said:

Tim Paine (Australia captain): “It's boiling away, there's some stuff starting to happen, a bit of chat starting to happen. I think this Test is going to be fascinating not just from a cricket point of view, but I think there's a bit of tension starting to boil under the surface.”

Ajinkya Rahane (India captain): "As a batsman, Jadeja has improved a lot, and that's a massive thing from the team's perspective ... when you know your No.7 can contribute with the bat, you know a good score can be achieved.”