Australia has announced its playing XI for the Boxing Day Test against India. With Josh Hazlewood injured, Scott Boland has been included. Seventeen-year-old opener Sam Konstas has been drafted into the squad, replacing Nathan McSweeney. Konstas is set to become Australia’s youngest Test cricketer, breaking Pat Cummins’ record from 2011.
Match Details
- Teams: Australia vs India
- Event: Fourth NRMA Insurance Test Match
- Date: December 26-30, 2024, first ball at 5:00 AM IST
- Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Melbourne, Victoria
- Where to Watch: Hotstar, Star Sports Network, Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports, Channel 7, and 7Plus
- Player of the Match: Johnny Mullagh Trophy to be awarded
- Umpires: Joel Wilson, Michael Gough (on-field), Sharfuddoula Saikat (third umpire), Shaun Craig (fourth umpire), Andy Pycroft (referee)
Squads
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah (final XI subject to changes)
MCG Details
- Seating Capacity: 100,000
Match Sessions (IST)
- First Session: 5:00 AM – 7:00 AM
- Second Session: 7:40 AM – 9:40 AM
- Third Session: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
(An additional 30 minutes may be added daily if overs remain incomplete.)
Series Schedule
- First Test: India won by 295 runs
- Second Test: Australia won by 10 wickets
- Third Test: Draw
- Fourth Test: December 26-30, MCG, Melbourne
- Fifth Test: January 3-7, SCG, Sydney
Head-to-Head Statistics
- Overall: Australia – 46 wins, India – 33 wins, 30 draws, 1 tie
- In Australia: Australia – 31 wins, India – 10 wins, 14 draws
- Last 10 Years:
- Australia: 8 wins (5 home, 2 in India, 1 neutral)
- India: 9 wins (4 home, 5 in Australia), 7 draws (5 in Australia, 2 in India)
Form Guide (Last 10 Matches | W: Win, L: Loss, D: Draw)
- Australia: D-W-L-W-W-L-W-W-W-W
- India: D-L-W-L-L-L-W-W-W-W