Gabba Test: Key player battles to watch out for
What's the story
The third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series between India and Australia will kick off at Brisbane's Gabba stadium on December 14.
The series is currently tied at 1-1, with India winning the first Test and Australia bouncing back with a 10-wicket win in the second game.
Owing to the same, the Gabba Test promises fierce competition as both sides battle for supremacy in the series.
Here we look at the player battles which can be on display.
#1
Jaiswal vs Starc: A battle for redemption
Yashasvi Jaiswal will hope to get over his last outing at Adelaide, where he was dismissed on the first ball by Mitchell Starc.
Meanwhile, the southpaw dominated the proceedings in the series opener in Perth, where he scored a brilliant 161 in the third innings.
However, Starc had dismissed him for a duck in the first innings of that game as well.
Overall, left-arm pacers have dismissed Jaiswal five times across eight Test innings, as per ESPNcricinfo.
#2
Siraj vs Head: A high-stakes duel
Another key battle will be betweem Mohammed Siraj vs Travis Head.
This battle garnered a lot of attention in the Australian sports media after Head's brilliant 141 off 140 balls in the last game.
Siraj finally dismissed him as his send-off garnered a lot of attention. Overall, Siraj has dismissed Head thrice acros seven innings.
The batter averages 40 in this battle.
#3
Pant vs Lyon: A rematch at the Gabba
The face-off between Rishabh Pant and Australia's Nathan Lyon will also be intruiging.
Pant has been inconsistent, having scored 87 runs so far in the series. He returns to The Gabba, where he had led India to a historic victory in the 2020-21 series.
However, Lyon, who has taken two wickets so far, will look to outdo Pant this time around in their anticipated rematch.
Pant averages 39 against Lyon, having fallen to him six times across 14 innings.
#4
Can Smith overcome his struggles vs Bumrah?
Talismanic batter Steve Smith has had a hard time in this series.
He has particularly struggled versus Jasprit Bumrah, who has troubled him twice.
The pacer has been breathing in this series, having already scalped 12 wickets at 11.25.
Meanwhile, he has overall dismissed Smith three times across eight Test innings as the batter averages just 19.33 in this battle.
Conditions
Pitch report and streaming details
The Gabba pitch is famous for its pace and bounce, favoring fast bowlers but providing opportunities for batters who can adapt quickly.
Historically, there's no clear advantage between batting first or second at this venue.
However, captains may prefer bowling first considering the green pitch conditions expected.
Meanwhile, the match will start at 5:50am IST and will be telecast on Star Sports Network and DD Sports. Disney+Hotstar will provide the live streaming.
Poll
Which player will come on top?
Poll