New Delhi: Team India will take on Australia in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday, December 26. The five-match series is levelled at 1-1 and both teams will be looking to take the lead in the Boxing Day Test match.
The Men in Blue won the opening Test by 295 runs in Perth but the Aussies made a sensational comeback in the Day-Night Test and won the match by 10 wickets at the Adelaide Oval. The third Test of the series ended in a draw as rain played a spoilsport on four days of the match.
In the third Test, Australia batted first and scored 445 runs in the first innings. Travis Head and Steve Smith notched up brilliant hundreds. The Men in Blue scored only 260 runs in the second innings although they managed to avoid the follow-on. Australia declared their second innings on 89/7 and set a target of 275 runs for India but the match was called off due to poor light and rain. Rohit and Co. need to win the remaining two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to directly qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Melbourne weather report
As per Accuweather, the weather for the Boxing Day Test match is looking good for cricket. There are no predictions of rain expected on any of the five days. The weather will be “breezy and hot with a cloud cover” and the temperature will range between 38 degrees Celsius during the day and 15 degrees Celsius at night on Thursday.
Melbourne weather report. (Screen grab – Accuweather.com)
MCG Pitch Report
The MCG has hosted 116 Test matches so far and only 17 of them ended in a draw or tie. The pitch in Melbourne provides good support for both bowlers and batters. Early in the match, bowlers will get a good seam and bounce from the pitch. But as the Test match progresses, batters will find it easier to score runs. The MCG pitch curator says that “the pitch has been more seam-friendly than spin-friendly”.
India will take on Australia in the Boxing Day Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday, December 26. Take a look at Melbourne’s weather and pitch report. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
