India have retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a complete team performance in the Boxing Day test match. As a result, they will now aim for their first series win in Australia.
In the 3rd test, India batted Australia out of the game in the first innings as they piled on 443/7 (declared). Pujara hit another patient hundred and Kohli chipped with 82 as the pair put on 170 for the 3rd wicket. Credit goes to India's bowling lineup in this test as they kept Australia to just 151 on a very good batting wicket. Bumrah took 6/33 and the rest of the bowlers chipped in. Australia fought back in India's 2nd innings, mainly thanks to Patty Cummins. He finished with 6/27 and surprisingly had Pujara/Kohli out in the same over via the same dismissal. Chasing a mammoth total to win, Australia's top order failed again as they made starts but couldn't go on with the job. The bright spot was again Cummins as he top scored with 63. In the end, India won by 137 runs and take a 2-1 series lead to Sydney.
After winning in Perth, Australia came crashing back to earth in Melbourne and they'll need a quick turnaround in Sydney to salvage a series draw. It starts with the batting lineup where all of the top 6 haven't converted their opportunites. Aaron Finch has a poor Shield record as an opener and India have exposed his weaknesses in this series. Harris has batted well for a new player to the team and the same can be said for Travis Head. Meanwhile, the experienced pair of Marsh and Khawaja have been inconsistent. Mitch Marsh returned to the lineup in Melbourne but looked horribly out of form with the bat and didn't get much out of the Boxing Day pitch with his bowling. There's talk Marnus Labuschagne will come into the lineup for the Sydney test in-place of Marsh.
India are the number #1 Test side in the World and they're playing like it at the moment. They feed off Kohli's passion and there's no doubt they'll be keen to re-write history with India's first series win in Australia. The bowling lineup has exposed Australia without Smith and Warner with excellent bowling plans. In his debut test, Agarwal looked like a veteran opener at the top of the order and Australia can't stop Purjara on slow decks. They will need to make a forced chance in the 4th test as Rohit Sharma has returned home for personal reasons. So Vihari will move back to number #6 and they'll likely open with Vijay or Rahul.
SCG Stats
- Australia is 5-0 (2 draws) at the SCG since 2012.
- India's last win at the SCG in Test cricket was back in 1978.
- The last meeting at the venue in Test cricket was in 2015 and the match finished in a draw.
- In the last 5 meetings at the SCG, Australia has won 3 and there's been 2 draws.
Top Australia Batsman
Australia's top runscorer in this series is Travis Head with 217 runs at 36.16. He's been the most consistent performer while not making overly big scores. Khawaja is the favourite at $4 and he does have a great record at the SCG. He's averaging 80.25 in 4 matches at the SCG. However, his first innings performances in this series have been underwhelming. Aaron Finch at $5 is way over the odds as he's scored just 97 runs in this series. Harris has batted well in the series but the value odds are with Travis Head.
Best Bet
Top India Batsman
India's top runscorer is basically a two-horse race between Pujara and Kohli. Despite both batsman getting a duck in the 2nd innings of the 3rd test, they should be back to their best on the SCG wicket. Pujura has scored a first innings hundred in Adelaide and Melbourne during this series. The SCG wicket is fairly similar to those venues and I don't see how Australia can stop him. Kohli is the 2nd top runscorer in the series so far with 259 runs at 43.16. He scored 147 in the first innings of India's last test at this venue as well. However, I like the form of Pujara on pitches like the SCG.
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Prediction
The momentum in the series is back with India as they have Australia covered with the bat and ball. Australia's top order obviously lacks the ability to score hundreds without Smith and Warner. They've also been outplayed by a seriously good Indian bowling lineup. So the best bet in the 4th test looks to be India taking a first innings lead. After the first innings in Melbourne, they were ahead by 292 runs and have taken a first innings lead in 2 of the 3 test matches so far.
Best Bet
