Australia captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and elected to bat first in the third and final ODI of the India tour at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The hosts are aiming for a 3–0 whitewash, having already clinched the series with victories in the first two matches.
At the time of writing, Australia are 0/0 (0.4), with Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head at the crease. Mohammed Siraj started the proceedings for India, running in with two slips in place. He had a false start initially due to landing issues but quickly settled into rhythm.
Team News
India made two changes — Kuldeep Yadav and Prasidh Krishna replaced Arshdeep Singh and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was ruled out after sustaining a left quadriceps injury in the second ODI.
Australia made one change, with Nathan Ellis coming in for Xavier Bartlett.
Captains Speak
Mitchell Marsh: “We are gonna bat first. It’s a really nice wicket and a beautiful day here at the SCG. The young guys have been outstanding, and today’s a great opportunity to go 3-0 up in the series.”
Shubman Gill: “We would have bowled first. We’ve been creating chances but haven’t capitalized. Hopefully, today’s a good one for us.”
Pitch Report (Parthiv Patel & Shane Watson)
The SCG surface is hard with live grass, offering some early movement for pacers with the new ball. Cracks running vertically could assist bounce, but it’s expected to be the best batting pitch of the series, historically known for high scores and value for shots.
Australia Playing XI:
Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Nathan Ellis, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
India Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
With Australia’s stellar record at the SCG — eight wins in their last nine ODIs at the venue, all while batting first — the pressure is on India to avoid a series whitewash.
