Vikrant Shekhawat : Dec 26, 2024, 12:44 PM
IND vs AUS: The first day of the Boxing Day Test being played in Melbourne is over. The Australian team, who won the toss and batted first, has scored 311 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. The partnership of captain Pat Cummins and Steve Smith has put the team in a strong position. Steve Smith is unbeaten on 68 runs and captain Pat Cummins is unbeaten on eight runs.Indian bowlers presented a tough challenge at the beginning of the Australian innings. Akash Deep got wicketkeeper Alex Carey (31 runs) caught by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Mitchell Marsh (4 runs), Travis Head (zero) and Usman Khawaja (57 runs). Meanwhile, Australia's top batsmen handled their innings and took the team to 311 runs. Marnus Labuschagne (72 runs), Washington Sundar and debutant Sam Constas (60 runs) fell prey to Ravindra Jadeja.Another important moment of this day was the dismissal of Travis Head. Jasprit Bumrah clean bowled Travis Head on the score of 240 runs, and he returned to the pavilion without opening the account. This was the first time in this series that Head was dismissed without scoring any runs. India's bowlers put in their best efforts in this innings, but Australia's middle order scored runs with good contribution and kept the team in a strong position.One change has been made in the Indian team for this Test match. Shubman Gill has been rested, while Washington Sundar has got a chance. At the same time, Australia has made two changes in the playing-11 of the Brisbane Test. Josh Hazlewood and Nathan McSweeney have been dropped, and Scott Boland and Sam Constas have been included in the team in their place.In this series, both the teams drew the third Test after winning one Test each. Now in the Melbourne Test, both the teams have a chance to take the lead in the series. The first day's play has made this match exciting, and now both the teams are looking forward to the next day's play.