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The fourth and final Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series between Australia and India starts from Friday (January 15) at The Gabba in Brisbane.
With the third Test ended on a draw, the 4-match series is poised at 1-1. Therefore, the fourth Test in Brisbane will be the series decider.
Advantage will be of the home team as they haven’t lost a game at The Gabba since 1988. On the other hand, the visitors haven’t yet won a single match at this venue. India have played five Tests in Brisbane and lost four of them while one met the fate of a draw.
Pitch report:
The pitch at Gabba is generally known for assisting pacers as it carries extreme pace and bounce. But, as the game progresses, spinners will come into play as well. Teams batting first have won 25 matches at this venue while the teams fielding first have registered 23 victories. The captain winning the toss would likely to bat first as the average score in the first innings at the venue is 337.
Head to head record:
Matches played: 101 | Australia: 43 | India: 29 | Draw: 28 | Tied: 1
Playing Combination:
Australia
Australia have announced their playing XI for the final Test. The hosts have replaced Marcus Harris with injured Will Pucovski, who has been ruled out from the final Test.
AUS XI: Tim Paine (c & wk), David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Cameron Green, Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
India
Injury-ravaged India would look to find the best combination for the last Test. Shardul Thakur might come in the playing XI as replacement of Ravindra Jadeja. At the same time, T Natarajan could make his Test debut as replacement of Umesh Yadav.
If Ravichandran Ashwin is not fit, then Kuldeep Yadav will most likely replace him. On the other hand, there could be a toss-up between Wriddhiman Saha and Mayank Agarwal.
IND XI: Ajinkya Rahane(c), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha/Mayank Agarwal, Ravichandran Ashwin/Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, T Natarajan, Shardul Thakur.