(Cricket news) Australia won the toss and elected to bat first on what was the best batting pitch of the series. India made one change as Mohammed Shami came in for Mohammed Siraj. One reason for that could be to manage the workload and the other could be to test out Umesh Yadav as he is likely to play the WTC final if India qualify. There were rumors of Ishan Kishan making a debut by replacing KS Bharat but that didn’t happen. Australia on the other hand went in with the same XI as Pat Cummins was unavailable once again. 

India started with seam on both ends and it was all a little harwire. Mohammed Shami in particular bowled very inconsistent lengths. Umesh Yadav produced an edge off Travis Head in the 6th over but the simple catch was dropped by keeper KS Bharat. Head was eventually dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin for 32 off 44 balls. Mohammed Shami came back into the attack and started bowling like his usual self. He cleaned up Marnus Labuschagne for 3 off 20 with a beautiful delivery. India came back well after a tough period at the start by taking two quick wickets.

Steve Smith came in and steadied things down with Usman Khawaja batting incredibly well on the other end. Smith started really well with a couple of decent boundaries. He looked really comfortable but then got too comfortable as he was bowled off Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling trying to play a lazy shot. Peter Handscome could only manage 17 runs as he was also clean bowled by Mohammed Shami. Usman Khawaja continued his incredible form as he scored .He has been Australia’s best batter in this series. The southpaw has negotiated spin really well and has put the bad balls away. 

Cameron Green also played well and scored an unbeaten 49 off 64. The allrounder took time to settle down and assess the conditions but then started attacking. India bowled really well in patches but there were times when the line and length was very inconsistent. The pitch didn’t have spin as much as the first 3 Tests but it will become much more difficult for batting as the match progresses. The day ended with Australia on 255/4 and in the driver’s seat.

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