Australia vs India, 3rd Test: Preview, Dream11 and stats
Australia and India gear up for the third Test of the four-match series, starting Thursday at the SCG. With the series poised at 1-1, this Test could be of huge significance. India have won just once at the SCG out of 12 attempts although the last two matches have ended in draws. The Ajinkya Rahane-led Indian team will hope to make things count.
Australia vs India: Team news and selection
With Joe Burns dropped, the Aussies could welcome David Warner and Will Pucovski. It remains to be seen whether the two come in and open, which could also see Matthew Wade sit out. For India, Umesh Yadav was ruled out of the series. One between Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, and T Natarajan could take his place. Rohit Sharma is likely to replace Mayank Agarwal.
Both teams need to be at their best
Both teams need to step up and deliver at the SCG with so much at stake. The hosts need a drastic improvement in their batting. They have breached the 200-run mark only once so far. The focus will be on Steve Smith, who is yet to get going. Meanwhile, India need to keep the pressure on with the ball. The batting needs improvement too.
Fantasy Dream11 and predicted starting XI
Dream11 team prediction: Warner, Gill, Smith, Rahane (c), Labuschagne (vc), Pant (wk), Cummins, Ashwin, Starc, Bumrah, Siraj. Australia predicted starting XI: Pucovski, Warner, Smith, Labuschagne, Travis Head, Green, Tim Paine (c/wk), Lyon, Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood. India predicted starting XI: Gill, Rohit, Pujara, Rahane, Vihari, Pant (wk), Jadeja, Ashwin, Bumrah, Siraj, Saini/Natarajan/Shardul.
Timing, TV listing, pitch report and conditions
The match is set to start at 5:00 AM IST on Thursday. One can watch the match live on the Sony Ten Network, besides streaming the same on Sony LIV app (paid subscription). SCG will support batting at large. One expects to see the spinners get some turn off the pitch. We could see a bit of rain on the first two days.
Notable stats ahead of the match
Nathan Lyon (394) needs six wickets to get past the mark of 400. He could become only the third Aussie bowler to achieve this feat. Mitchell Starc (252) needs eight wickets to surpass Jason Gillespie (259). With this, he can become the eighth-highest wicket-taker for Australia. India's spin ace R Ashwin (375) is two shy of getting past former WI legend Malcolm Marshall (376).
