Australia won the crucial toss and elected to bat first in the fourth Test match against India in Melbourne. Australia handed debut to young opener Sam Konstas while India replaced struggling batter Shubman Gill with the spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar.
After losing the toss, captain Rohit Sharma revealed one change to India’s playing XI and also confirmed that he will bat in the top order.
“We would have batted as well, looks like a good wicket,” Rohit Sharma said at the toss. “The series is 1-1, a lot to play for, it gives us a perfect opportunity to show what we are as a team. Whatever situation lies in front of you, you have to fight. It’s a new day and we are looking forward to it. We have one change – GIll misses out and Washington comes in. (On whether he will bat at the top of the order) Yes, I will.”
The decision to leave Gill out seems like a tactical one. The right-handed batter has not been able to set the stage on fire with his performances in the series so far. The 25-year-old scored 31 and 28 across the two innings of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide. He was dismissed for just 1 in the third Test at the Gabba.
Sundar, who has replaced him in India’s playing XI for the Test in MCG, played the first Test of the series at the Optus Stadium in Perth. He was left out of the XI for the second Test in Adelaide.
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Australia Playing XI: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.
