Starts on Friday.
Some concern over Pucovski's shoulder. If he's ok, I can't see any changes for the home team.
India will probably have to replace Jadeja.
Australia v. India. 4th. Test - Gabba.
So much for Pant being injured... 
He was threatening to win the game for India.
And Saha, a much better keeper, subbed for him in the third innings.
Two problems:
Oz bowlers bowled a lot of overs (131) last in a fruitless effort on a very flat pitch. How much will it take out of them?
Paine has won all 3 tosses, but Oz is still only level. Will the toss in Brissy matter much?
He was threatening to win the game for India.
And Saha, a much better keeper, subbed for him in the third innings.
Two problems:
Oz bowlers bowled a lot of overs (131) last in a fruitless effort on a very flat pitch. How much will it take out of them?
Paine has won all 3 tosses, but Oz is still only level. Will the toss in Brissy matter much?
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23 YIPPEE!!!
Paine completes a series whitewash of the coin toss. Good. Oz needs all the luck they can get.
"He has no hesitation in batting first."
That's another reason pitches that start off too good for batting are bad for cricket. It gives too much advantage to the side that wins the toss (unless it stays a road for 5 days, which would be bad for other reasons). Ideally you'd want the captains to want to lose the toss because they don't want to make a hard decision.
Oz's last great batsman, Ricky Ponting, says the pitch is drier than normal. He says it's more like a Day 2 pitch. Hopefully that means if Oz is bowling on the fifth day it's like a Day 6 pitch and all crumbled.
This is literally a 2nd XI Indian bowling attack, so on this pitch there are no excuses. Perfect setup for FTBs.
Update: Err... Maybe not a 2nd XI attack but a 3rd XI attack. I can't see Ashwin on the team list. Is he injured too? Yes, he is.
India's bowlers missing through injury:
Bumrah
Ishant Sharma
Shami
Yadav
Ashwin
Jadeja
B. Kumar
"He has no hesitation in batting first."
That's another reason pitches that start off too good for batting are bad for cricket. It gives too much advantage to the side that wins the toss (unless it stays a road for 5 days, which would be bad for other reasons). Ideally you'd want the captains to want to lose the toss because they don't want to make a hard decision.
Oz's last great batsman, Ricky Ponting, says the pitch is drier than normal. He says it's more like a Day 2 pitch. Hopefully that means if Oz is bowling on the fifth day it's like a Day 6 pitch and all crumbled.
This is literally a 2nd XI Indian bowling attack, so on this pitch there are no excuses. Perfect setup for FTBs.
Update: Err... Maybe not a 2nd XI attack but a 3rd XI attack. I can't see Ashwin on the team list. Is he injured too? Yes, he is.
India's bowlers missing through injury:
Bumrah
Ishant Sharma
Shami
Yadav
Ashwin
Jadeja
B. Kumar
The Flat-Track Bully Steve Smith is out for 36 to what "looked like a nice little half-volley" (Gavaskar) from debutant Washington Sundar. Smith flicked it to the man placed exactly for that shot.
Oz 3/87.
Washington 1/0.
Admit it. You've never heard of Washington before, have you? He's an off-spinner. Before this match, he'd played only 1 ODI, but 26 T20Is.
But Oz's best batsman, Marnus, is still at the crease. Maybe Green can build on his second innings last Test too.
Oz 3/87.
Washington 1/0.
Admit it. You've never heard of Washington before, have you? He's an off-spinner. Before this match, he'd played only 1 ODI, but 26 T20Is.
But Oz's best batsman, Marnus, is still at the crease. Maybe Green can build on his second innings last Test too.
Now Marnus edges Saini and is dropped by Rahane in the gully.
That was not a difficult chance.
He's on 37. How many runs will that cost India? Can Marnus score a century?
It would have been embarrassing to be 4/93 against a 3rd XI attack in perfect batting conditions.
......................................
And Saini has now left the field injured. He could not complete his over.
Add his name to the seven bowlers I listed above.
I'd say any Oz batsman who does not score a century from here has failed.
......................................
Hayden asked why there are all the middling scores and no centuries.
Ponting says they are just making "simple mistakes and a lot of them". He gives the Harris and Smith wickets as examples.
Yeah, they were both soft dismissals. Harris may not get another chance, so that was potentially very costly.
That was not a difficult chance.
He's on 37. How many runs will that cost India? Can Marnus score a century?
It would have been embarrassing to be 4/93 against a 3rd XI attack in perfect batting conditions.
......................................
And Saini has now left the field injured.
He could not complete his over.Add his name to the seven bowlers I listed above.
I'd say any Oz batsman who does not score a century from here has failed.
......................................
Hayden asked why there are all the middling scores and no centuries.
Ponting says they are just making "simple mistakes and a lot of them". He gives the Harris and Smith wickets as examples.
Yeah, they were both soft dismissals. Harris may not get another chance, so that was potentially very costly.