India and Australia are going to face each other in the 3rd Test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 starting from 1st March 2023 at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. The match is the last chance for Australia to make a comeback and hope to draw the series. It is confirmed that India will retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy irrespective of the outcomes of the last two matches in this Test series. India is currently leading the four match Test series by 2-0 and will look to win the 3rd Test as well to seal a spot in the World Test Championship final. Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian team while Steve Smith is going to lead the Aussies in the upcoming Test. Here we have covered everything you need to know about the India vs Australia 3rd Test pitch report, injury updates, predicted playing XIs and streaming details.
IND vs AUS 3rd Test Pitch Report
The pitch at Indore is going to be made of red soil that is often beneficial for the spinners. It will be a track that will offer great assistance to left-arm orthodox spinners like Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Todd Murphy. Off spinners Nathan Lyon and Ravi Ashwin will also fancy their chances at this pitch. There won’t be too many runs on this pitch as you can expect the ball to start to turn from the get-go. Anything over 200 runs would be a good total in the 1st innings of this Test match. The team which wins the toss should definitely opt to bat first.
IND vs AUS 3rd Test Injury Updates
There is no one from the Indian team that has been injured. On the other hand, Australia has a lot of injury concerns. David Warner is reportedly ruled out of the Test series due to a fracture in his hand after going through a barrage of short balls in the 2nd Test match.
Also read: IND vs AUS: Big names return as Australia announce their 16-member squad for the ODI series vs India
The Australian captain Pat Cummins is yet to return from Australia and he won’t be available for the 3rd Test. Family reasons will keep him away and in his absence Steve Smith is going to captain the Australian team.
Ashton Agar has returned to Australia to play domestic cricket while Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out due to his injury taking a longer time than expected to heal.
However, Mitchell Starc has attained full fitness and he will surely play the 3rd Test against India at Indore.
IND vs AUS 3rd Test Playing XI
India is expected to go with the same playing XI despite rumours of Shubman Gill replacing KL Rahul in the team. Australia will make a few changes and Mitchell Starc and Lance Morris are the two pacers expected to play for the team. Below are the predicted playing XIs of both teams for the 3rd Test.
India 3rd Test Playing XI:
- Rohit Sharma (C)
- KL Rahul
- Cheteshwar Pujara
- Virat Kohli
- Shreyas Iyer
- KS Bharat (WK)
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Axar Patel
- Ravi Ashwin
- Mohammed Shami
- Mohammed Siraj
Australia 3rd Test Playing XI:
- Travis Head
- Usman Khawaja
- Marnus Labuschagne
- Steve Smith (C)
- Peter Handscomb
- Mathew Renshaw
- Alex Carey (WK)
- Mitchell Starc
- Nathan Lyon
- Todd Murphy
- Lance Morris
IND vs AUS 3rd Test Streaming Details
India vs Australia 3rd Test will be broadcasted live on Star Sports Network Channels on TV in India from 9:30 AM IST on 1st March 2023. You can watch the live 3rd Test online on the digital streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar in India.