Live: Indian captain Sharma ‘opted to rest’ for final Test against Australia

May Be Interested In:5 Thai hostages arrive back home after being released by Hamas


Live: Australia vs India at the SCG

3rd over – Starc continues

Starc comes in and the first ball of the over sharply bounces past the helmet. I’m not sure that was supposed to be a full-blooded bouncer to Jaiswal, but it was.

Jaiswal gets a delivery on his pads and nudges it to the leg side for a single.

KL Rahul will face his second ball of the match and he leaves a wide ball alone. That ball really is bouncing sharply. Importantly, there does not appear to be a lot of swing.

Starc in again and bowls outside off stump. Rahul thinks of defending, then gets his bat well out of the way.

Another ball slides across the right-hand batter, which is left alone.

Mitchell Starc is not enjoying the popping crease. His front foot appears to be sliding in the delivery stride.

Rahul gets off the mark with a lovely cover drive. It is caressed through the offside and India run three.

2nd over – Pat Cummins bowls

Captain Pat Cummins will take the first over from the opposite end.

Cummins bowls short to Jaiswal who rises and defends for no run.

The second ball of the over is at the hip of Jaiswal who defends to the leg side for no run.

BEATEN! Great ball from Cummins. It was shorter, pitched on leg stump, them beat the verticle bat on the outside edge.

BEATEN AGAIN! Cummins bowls a little fuller and again gets the ball to hit the pitch and seam away. It beats Jaiswal’s outside edge again.

The next ball of the Cummins over BEATS Jaiswal again. Terrific over.

The final ball is at the pads and worked into the leg side for a single to end the over.

1st over – Starc bowls the first over of the Test

The final Test is about to begin.

Mitchell Starc has the brand new cricket ball in his hand.

Starc steams in and bowls the first ball of the match to Yashasvi Jaiswal.

The first ball is darted at the stump and Jaiswal defends to min-on.

Jaiswal has the second ball on the inside of his hip and he defends to short forward square leg.

FOUR! Nice shot from Jaiswal. Another ball darted at the pads, but the Indian was up to it. He punched through mid-wicket and to the boundary.

Jaiswal then leaves the next ball which flies over off stump. We are not seeing a lot of swing yet.

The final ball is dug in short, and Jaiswal turns it off his body for a single.

KL Rahul will face the final ball of the over in fends to square leg for no run.

The players are on the field

The Welcome to Country and the anthems are underway.

KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal are padded up and ready to go.

Who’s Beau Webster?

Beau Webster gives the thumbs up.
(Getty)

After handing a debut to 19-year-old Sam Konstas last week, Australia’s rookie for this Test is back on the other side of 30 with the rest of the team.

Tasmanian all-rounder Beau Webster has been playing Sheffield Shield cricket since 2014 and gets his first Test cap at the ripe old age of 31.

He scored 938 runs at an average of 58 in the last Shield season and took 30 wickets at 29, numbers only bettered by Sir Garfield Sobers back in the 1960s.

Webster scored another century and a half-century in the 2024/25 Shield season, scoring 303 runs at 50.50 in the first four matches.

Your favourite Australia-India moments

We have revealed the top 10 moments in the cricket history between Australia and India, as voted by you.

Check them out and let us know what you think in the comments.

India has ‘rested’ Rohit Sharma and will bat first

India batter Rohit Sharma walks off.
(AP)

Jasprit Bumrah strides out to the coin toss alongside Pat Cummins.

So Rohit Sharma’s axing is confirmed, although the Indians are spinning it as something else.

Bumrah nails his first job, winning the toss and electing to bat, saying Rohit has “opted to rest” for this match. Ok, pal.

“Our captain has shown his leadership, he’s opted to rest in this game,” Bumrah says.

“So that shows there’s a lot of unity in our team, there’s no selfishness, whatever is in the team’s best interest, we are looking to do that.”

Loading

And if you believe that, I’ve got some swamp land I’d like to sell you.

Shubman Gill returns to number three and KL Rahul will open. Akash Deep is out with a back issue and seamer Prasidh Krishna comes in for his third Test.

Cummins says Australia would have batted first too but hopes the overcast conditions can help them move the ball around a bit this morning.

Just one change for Australia, with Beau Webster replacing Mitch Marsh, so Mitchell Starc must have overcome those back injury concerns.

Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Eyes on the sky as usual in Sydney

SCG ground staff in a huddle before play.
The SCG groundstaff have been some of the hardest workers in recent Tests.(Getty)

Considering the history of rain ruining SCG Tests of late, there were no doubt some nerves when fans arrived to see covers on a damp Sydney surface.

There are clouds around, but the forecast isn’t actually too bad for today and should only get better over the next couple of days.

The forecast for Sydney.
(Supplied: BOM)

We’re not expecting any massive rain delays.

Hello and welcome to the beginning of the end

Fans line up to get into the SCG.
(Getty)

 It’s almost time for the start of the fifth and final Test of this dramatic series between Australia and India.

Myself and Mick Doyle will be here to cover every moment of what will hopefully be a dramatic finale to a brilliant series.

Stick around, because there’s plenty to get through even before a ball is bowled.

share Share facebook pinterest whatsapp x print

Similar Content

Poilievre says the next Canadian election will be about the carbon price
Poilievre says the next Canadian election will be about the carbon price
Future stars bring home trophy
Thailand bans imports of plastic waste to curb toxic pollution
Thailand bans imports of plastic waste to curb toxic pollution
The Cast Of "Squid Game" Tried In-N-Out Burgers, Chili's, And Other American Foods For The First Time, And Their Reactions Were Priceless
The Cast Of “Squid Game” Tried In-N-Out Burgers, Chili’s, And Other American Foods For The First Time, And Their Reactions Were Priceless
Dredd, now on Max, is the violent superhero thriller the MCU wishes it could make
Dredd, now on Max, is the violent superhero thriller the MCU wishes it could make
Boosting neuronal activity-driven mitochondrial DNA transcription improves cognition in aged mice | Science
Boosting neuronal activity-driven mitochondrial DNA transcription improves cognition in aged mice | Science
Truth Tellers: Bringing the World to Your Screen | © 2025 | Daily News