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India vs Australia: Fourth Test, cricket live scores, blog – Day 1

25th March, 2017
Start time: 3pm (AEDT)
Venue: HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala
TV: Live, Fox Sports

India (probable)
1 Lokesh Rahul, 2 Murali Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (c), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Karun Nair, 7 Wriddiman Saha (wk), 8 Ravichandran Ashwin, 9 Ravindra Jadeja, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav.

Australia (probable)
1 David Warner, 2 Matt Renshaw, 3 Steven Smith (c), 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Steve O'Keefe, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood
Can Davey claw back some respectability by taking on Rabada? (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Roar Guru
25th March, 2017
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12560 Reads

Result:

The first day of the Test ad Dharamsala was a tale of two players, Steven Smith and Kuldeep Yadav – and with supporting actors to assist both.

» Read more

Scores at end of day
Australia 300
India 0/0

Preview:

The final Test of the ongoing four-match Border-Gavaskar trophy between India and Australia will start on Saturday, March 25. The contest will be played at the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium in Dharamshala. Follow all the action of Day 1 from 3pm (AEDT) here on The Roar.

This will be the first Test match to be played at this venue which has hosted Twenty20 internationals and One-Day-Internationals in the past.

The series is evenly poised at 1-1 after three games. Australia had dominated the first Test in Pune before India fought back in Bangalore to level the series. The third Test match at Ranchi saw both sides go hammer and tongs at each other.

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However, the match ended in a draw as Australia’s batsmen showed great discipline and skill on the final day of the contest with the side seemingly in trouble.

Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell had scored hundreds in the first innings at Ranchi before India dismissed Australia for 451 runs in the first innings. While the captain remained unbeaten on 178 runs, Maxwell was dismissed for 104 after helping himself to his first Test match century.

India did well with the bat as well with Cheteshwar Pujara and Wriddhiman Saha the two stand-out players for the hosts. Lokesh Rahul and Murali Vijay both posted half-centuries from the top of the order while Ravindra Jadeja, who had earlier claimed a five-wicket haul with the ball, also scored an unbeaten 54 before India declared at 603/9.

Pujara scored his third Test double-hundred while Saha hit 117 runs. Pujara set the record for the most number of balls faced by an Indian in a single Test match innings as he faced 525 deliveries during his stay at the centre. Pat Cummins was the best bowler for the visitors with four wickets while Steve O’Keefe claimed three scalps.

Australia lost a couple of wickets by the end of the fourth day with Jadeja looking menacing. Although India did not lead by much, the manner in which the Aussies had catapulted in Bangalore did not inspire much confidence among their fans. However, a spirited defence from Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb, in particular, saw them maintain status quo in the series.

Going into this decider, Australia are unlikely to make changes to their playing squad after Cummins and Maxwell both impressed in their roles.

The big question was if Cummins had survived bowling those 39 overs in his first game after comeback to Test cricket and he looked to have done just that. With the surface expected to help quicks, Jackson Bird could also be added to the playing XI which means Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe might have to sit out.

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India could be forced to go without their captain, Virat Kohli, who will be put through his paces in a late fitness test. Shreyas Iyer has been called up to the squad as back-up for Kohli.

The conditions might also necessitate another change as Bhuvneshwar Kumar could get a look-in ahead of Ishant Sharma.

Pujara and Smith are likely to be the key players for the two sides with the series up for grabs. A draw will be sufficient for Australia to claim the Border-Gavaskar trophy having won it last time India were down under.

Follow the live scores and blog of the first day of this fourth Test between India and Australia from 3pm (AEDT) here on The Roar.

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