There are still two Tests to play in the series and everything to play for. Both sides stand chances of qualifying for the final of the World Test Championship at Lords.
Australia is currently second behind South Africa while India is third. A win for one side will mean a loss for the other and with two games left in the series this could turn into a see-saw affair. It’s high stakes.
It’s also a very even contest, coming into the fourth game of the series things are all square with a win each and a draw (from the rain-affected third Test in Brisbane)
The MCG is a venue where bowling first is advantageous. In recent Tests the side batting second has won 45.5% of the time. Meanwhile 18.2% of games have been draws and 36.4% have gone in favour of the side batting first.
Australia vs India | Fourth Test | Thursday 26 December 2024 | MCG, Melbourne | 01:30am
Australia
Travis Head has been in great form with the bat for Australia. Averaging 81.8 from his five innings in the series his wicket really has become a key to unlocking the Australian batting.
What’s so fantastic about Head is not just the runs that he scores, but the speed he scores them at. While he sits comfortably atop the list of batting averages for the series, he is also top in terms of strike-rate, collecting his runs at a rate of 94.23.
Watch out for Steve Smith at the MCG – he loves the venue. He averages 92.42 at the MCG and has bagged 1109 runs from his 17 innings at the ground. Another Australian who enjoys the venue is Usman Khawaja who averages over 40 at the venue.
From a bowling perspective this is a happy hunting ground for Pat Cummins. He has 35 wickets at an average of 17 with four five-wicket hauls included. Nathan Lyon has a similar number of wickets (but from more game and with a higher average), while Mitchell Starc has also plundered plenty.
After a series of underwhelming scores at the top of the order for Australia Nathan McSweeney has been dropped for the last two games of the series. The 19-year-old NSW talent Sam Konstas is expected to join Usman Khawaja at the top of the order.
Meanwhile Marnus Labuschagne will be feeling the pressure to contribute more with the bat. He has passed 50 just once in the series thus far.
India
There’s a reason he is the number one ranked bowler in Test cricket, ahead of even Kagiso Rabada. Jasprit Bumrah has been far and away the most successful bowler in the series to date with 21 wickets to his credit. That’s seven more than the next highest. Expect more wickets from him in Melbourne, a venue that he enjoys. In the four innings he has bowled at the MCG he has taken 15 wickets at an average of 13.07.
India’s veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin retired after the third Test. At 38-years-old he was not a young man, but as India’s second highest wicket taker of all time he had loads of experience. His sudden decision to retire from international cricket leaves a big hole to fill. You don’t replace a man with 537 Test wickets to his name very easily.
In recent times India’s batting has been their undoubted strength. And while they still boast batting line-up that can tear any attack apart, you can’t help but feel that it is a line-up in transition. Virat Kohli has lost the air of invincibility that used to surround him. He made a century in the first Test but subsequent scores of seven, 11 and three are suddenly starting to feel less like exceptions.
That said, Kohli has an excellent average at the MCG. With an average of 76.25 he will want to spend as much time in the middle as possible.
India’s top batsman on the ICC rankings is 22-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is currently ranked fourth After 17 Tests he boasts an average of 53.33. He stroked 161 in the second innings of the first Test in Perth, but subsequent to that he had made scores of zero, 24, four and four not out.
Verdict: India
They have a great record at the MCG and head into the Boxing Day Test having won their last two encounters against Australia at the venue.
