INDIA VS AUSTRALIA 3rd TEST MATCH: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

Virat Kohli celebrates the fall of an Australian wicket with Jasprit Bumrah

An intriguing contest unfolds as Australia takes on India for the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Gabba Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday, the 14th of December.

With the series level at 1-1 after the host’s crushing 10-wicket victory at the Adelaide Oval, the onus will be on team India to mount a resurgent comeback in the 3rd test match.

It may be easier said than done with the Gabba traditionally operating as a fortress for Team Australia. However, if anyone can pull off a victory here, it is the visiting side.

In 2021, India became the first team in over two decades to register a win at the Gabba, with an unlikely 3 wicket victory, courtesy a brilliant unbeaten knock of 89 from Rishabh Pant who anchored Team India ashore on the day.     

The visitors had earlier despatched the hosts in the opening game at Perth by a staggering 295 runs, but having succumbed to a deeply humiliating defeat in the following game, all eyes will be on Rohit Sharma’s men as they prepare for another trying encounter.

TEAM NEWS:

                             India’s star man and vice captain Jasprit Bumrah had experienced a slight groin issue  this week, but he is expected to make a full recovery and start on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Australians still have concerns over the fitness of Josh Hazlewood, and the matter of his place in the starting 11 could be touch and go until the very last minute.

Scott Boland had come in for the injured pacer in the 2nd test match, and he impressed, with five scalps to his name, demonstrating a knack of getting important wickets at crucial stages in the game.

Neither team has made any changes to their respective squads. There were murmurs of Mohammed Shami making an early return from his ankle injury, but at the moment no official statement has been made regarding the matter.

SQUADS:

                     India: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.

                     Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

Weather report: The latest weather forecasts in Brisbane indicate that rain could be a major factor, potentially impacting play across all five days.

WHERE TO WATCH: You can catch the live-streaming of the 3rd Test against the Aussies on the HotStar app. The live TV coverage of the match is on Star Sports. Play starts at 5:50 AM IST. The toss is scheduled for 5:20 AM, half an hour before the match officially begins.