Australia opts to bat first against India in final Test

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pose with India captain Rohit Sharma and Australian skipper Steve Smit during day one of the Fourth Test matchat Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday, on March 9, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Australian captain Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat against India in the series-deciding fourth Test here on Thursday, March 9, 2023.

Before the toss, the two captains received the Test cap from their respective Prime Ministers, Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese.

BCCI president Roger Binny felicitated Australia’s Prime minister Albanese, while the secretary Jay Shah felicitated PM Modi.

Modi and Albanese also did a lap of honour across the ground to mark the occasion of 75 years of friendship between India and Australia.

Australia remained unchanged, while Mohammed Shami replaced Mohammed Siraj in the Indian team.

Teams:

India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami

Australia: Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith (capt), Peter Handscomb, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Todd Murphy, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann.