India vs Australia Live Score, Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, Day 1: India Look for Early Wickets

05:16 (IST)

India vs Australi live score, AUS 4-0: Bumrah has to get a wicket here, or the Aussies can trouble all the bowlers here. This first hour is very crucial. He ends the over with an excellent delivery.

05:12 (IST)

India vs Australia live score, AUS 3-0: Umesh Yadav starts from the other end now. Perhaps Siraj should have come here. Wade gets one in the middle of the bat and the batsmen run three. Another over comes to an end here.

05:07 (IST)

India vs Australia live score, AUS 0-0: Bumrah starts the proceedings with the new red cherry. Joe Burns and Matthew Wade start for Australia. It's a great start for Bumrah as he starts with a maiden over.

05:01 (IST)

We are just moments away from the start of the match. Hopefully Jasprit Bumrah will start the proceedings for the team. 

04:55 (IST)

The MCG has a unique atmosphere and is not only one of the largest stadiums in the world but also the one with the maximum capacity. We analyze the patterns of scoring at the venue in the last 5 years, the battle between pace vs spin, toss advantage if any and other trends which may have emerged during this period.

Bat First Advantage, Bowlers' Diminishing Returns - Trends from Last 5 Years at MCG

04:52 (IST)

1-0 down in the series after the drubbing in Adelaide, India will look to bounce back at the iconic venue. India will draw inspiration from their win in Melbourne in 2018 which gave them a 2-1 lead and remained the final scoreline of the series. We look at some important records and milestones which might be broken or set in Melbourne during the course of the next few days. Also, we look at some impressive stand out numbers at the MCG. 

Steve Smith's Bradmanesque MCG Average, Nathan Lyon Close to 400-Club

04:38 (IST)

India (Playing XI): Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

Australia (Playing XI): Matthew Wade, Joe Burns, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Tim Paine(w/c), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

04:35 (IST)

Ajinkya Rahane: First of all it is an honour to lead my country and this bunch of guys. We dominated the first two days at Adelaide and it was just that one hour that took it away from us. We just need to focus on the moment. Really excited for Shubhman and Siraj; they have worked really hard and have great FC records. Jadeja is a quality all-rounder and adds that balance as well. We were looking to bat first as well, but we now have to be patient.

04:32 (IST)

TOSS: Australia have won the toss and opted to bat here. Not a great start for India already here. 

04:23 (IST)

While India had a couple of forced changes, after Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami were unavailable for the rest of the series, Wriddhiman Saha and Prithvi Shaw have been axed on the back of some poor performances. Also many were expecting one more change, Rahul to come in place of Hanuma Vihari, who too hasn't been at his best.

04:17 (IST)

We will have the toss soon. India, if they win the toss will look to bat first again. With two spinners in the team, the message to the opposition is clear that they do not want to bat last on the MCG wicket, and there might be some assistance on offer to the slower bowlers. 

04:10 (IST)

So India had announced its team for the Boxing Day Test against Australia. As expected, they have gone with a host of changes -- four. Youngsters Shubman Gill and Mohammad Siraj will make their debut in the key encounter, while Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant too have forced their way into the team. The key player to miss out is KL Rahul.

04:07 (IST)

Hello and welcome to the Boxing Day Test from the Melbourne Cricket Ground. India was comprehensively beaten in the first Test at Adelaide, and now is the time for them to make amends. They face an uphill task, since they would be without the services of Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami, while Ajinkya Rahane will lead the team. Let's see what happens.