Rain forced an early lunch on the first day of the third Test between India and Australia on Thursday here at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Mohammad Siraj sent the comeback man David Warner (5) back to the pavilion in just the fourth over of the innings and the hosts once again got off to a bad start in the ongoing series against India. But after this dismissal, Will Pucovski (14*) and Marnus Labuschagne (2*) ensured that the side does not suffer from hiccups in the first session.
The first session saw just 7.1 over being bowled and the persistent drizzle brought about an early call for lunch.
Tim Paine-led Australia won the toss and elected to bat first against India in the third Test of the four-match series on Thursday here at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Rohit Sharma is finally back for the Indian side and he replaces Mayank Agarwal in the opening slot. Umesh Yadav, who was ruled out of the Test series after getting injured in the Boxing Day Test, has been replaced by Navdeep Saini in the playing XI. This will be the debut Test for Navdeep Saini. The pacer was handed the Blue cap from Jasprit Bumrah and as a result, Saini has become the 299th Test cricketer for India.
India got off to a perfect start as Mohammad Siraj dismissed David Warner (5) in the fourth over of the innings. Warner went for a drive, but he only managed to get an outside edge and a simple catch was given to Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip.
This is the first time in four years that Warner has been dismissed for less than 10 runs in a home Test.
With Australia’s score at 21/1 in the eighth over, rain played spoilsport and the play had to be halted and as a result, early lunch was called.
For India, Navdeep Saini is playing his first Test while Pucovski is playing his first Test for Australia.
India playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini.
Australia playing XI: David Warner, Will Pucovski, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Tim Paine (c), Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
Brief Scores: Australia 21/1 (Will Pucovski 14*, David Warner 5, Mohammad Siraj 1-14).
