UPDATE 1-Cricket-Australia bat first, two debutants for India in fourth test
15 Jan 2021 / 08:03 H.
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MELBOURNE, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Australia captain Tim Paine won the toss and elected to bat in the deciding fourth test against a depleted India in Brisbane on Friday, as the tourists blooded two debutants in paceman T. Natarajan and spinner Washington Sundar.
India were forced into four changes with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah ruled out and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin scratched with a back strain.
Batsman Hanuma Vihari was also omitted after suffering a hamstring injury in the Sydney test, while all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was forced out earlier in the week with a broken thumb.
Top order batsman Mayank Agarwal has been recalled while one-test paceman Shardul Thakur joins the rawest of four-pronged pace attacks along with Natarajan, two-test Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini, who made his debut in Sydney.
"In the end, it's all about opportunity for these guys who are playing and this is a decider so I'm really happy for those guys who are playing and really looking forward to starting well in this test match," said stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane.
Australia have not lost a test at the Gabba since 1988 and will be confident of sealing the series 2-1 with superior man-power and the first shot on the Gabba's traditionally fast and bouncy pitch.
"Clearly, it's a very good toss to win. I haven't seen a Gabba wicket with a crack down the middle of it, forever, on day one, to be honest," Paine said.
"It looks a fair bit harder than what it normally starts, you can see some cracks already underneath."
Australia have made one change from Sydney, with Marcus Harris replacing injured opener Will Pucovski.
Australia XI: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Cameron Green, Tim Paine (capt), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon
India XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, T. Natarajan. (Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Ed Osmond)
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