Here’s Geoff’s report:

That’s it from us today. Thanks for your company and comments. Australia have their noses in front in Sydney but it has been slightly bloodied by India at the close with Usman Khawaja back in the sheds courtesy of Jasprit Bumrah. The visitors need more quick wickets tomorrow to keep the match, series and their chances of a place in the World Test Championship final alive.

Angus and Tanya will be with you for that. The last word today (before Geoff Lemon’s match report lands shortly) can go to Julian Menz:

“James, Larry David might not be too happy but Happy New Year to you and all the OBO-ers out there!”

2nd over: Australia 8-0 (Konstas 6, Khawaja 2) Siraj beats Khawaja with a beauty that shapes away at the last. An appeal for caught behind but the replays show it clipped the thigh pad on the way through. We might squeeze in one more, India would dearly love to bag one of these openers tonight.

1st over: Australia 6-0 (Konstas 5, Khawaja 1) Konstas nudges a single to bring Khawaja on strike. The older man might not thank his younger partner. Sure enough a spitting ball from Bumrah from around the wicket clatters into his ribs and catches his finger on the way through. Ouch. The Aussie physio does some running repairs and he’s good to go a minute or two later. Another short ball is tickled off the pads to see Khawaja off the mark.

Konstas trots down and plops Bumrah over midwicket for four! First ball. The stones on this kid.

Here come Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja. This should be fun, less for them than us perhaps. Jasprit Bumrah has the ball in his clutches. Play!

72nd over: India 179-9 (Bumrah 16, Siraj 3) India creeping upwards, clock ticking onwards.

71st over: India 175-9 (Bumrah 12, Siraj 2) Three runs off the over as the lights come on at the SCG. It has gone a bit murkier out there. We’ve gone past the scheduled close of play but the over rate is waay down so we’ll have another half an hour I think. There’ll be ten minutes for a change of innings should a wicket fall so If Australia do bat it will be a horrible couple of overs.

70th over: India 172-9 (Bumrah 12, Siraj 2) Boland continues, A Bumrah leg bye and a Siraj single. I wonder if India will declare and get bowling? They must be tempted.

69th over: India 170-9 (Bumrah 12, Siraj 1) Starc bombs Siraj with some short stuff with Travis Head stuck under the lid at Boot Hill.

“Currently in the ground sat amongst many Indian fans. It has been a great atmosphere all day with the Indians getting more excited with the recent runs from India.” Writes our roving reporter Sam Letcher.

“We’ve also seen an Australian fan see off 8 schooners in a row… the general feeling in the crowd is that the Smith catch is difficult to tell but the Washington Sundar decision wasn’t out. There should be overwhelming evidence to overturn an infield decision of not out!

We’re hoping to get a glimpse of Konstas batting this evening… let’s see!”

68th over: India 166-8 (Krishna 1, Bumrah 12) Bumrah deals in boundaries! Boland is recalled to the attack and Bumrah hits him to the fence for the first time in the innings. Pitched up and Bumrah clears the front leg to smear consecutively down the ground! Precious runs. 13 runs in total off the over as Boland is glanced away off the hip for four leg byes off the final ball of the over. India wagging!

67th over: India 153-8 (Krishna 1, Bumrah 4) Starc searches for the yorker but can’t quite get it, Bumrah then top edges a shorte ball over Carey for four. 150 up for India!

66th over: India 148-8 (Krishna 0) Jasprit Bumrah arrives in the middle and Pat Cummins greets him with a towering bouncer that explodes off the surface. Penny for your thoughts, Jasprit.

65th over: India 144-7 (Sundar 10, Krishna 0) Starc gets a short ball to spit past Sundar’s grille, the batter sways out of the way well but loses his footing and ends up on his backside. Sundar stands tall and rolls his wrists on the the next one to get it away for a single to keep strike. His reward? Pat Cummins is coming back on.

64th over: India 143-7 (Sundar 9, Krishna 0) Washington Sundar punches back for India with a couple of boundaries clubbed off Webster. A meaty bunt down the ground is followed by a clattering cut for four. Did I mention any run is crucial? Mark Waugh on the tv commentary says this is about the spiciest SCG Test pitch he’s seen.

63rd over: India 134-7 (Sundar 0, Krishna 0) Prasidh Krishna joins Washington Sundar. Can India biff a few runs and get up past 160? Anything for Bumrah and co to work with on this lively track could well be crucial. Don’t adjust your set, folks. We could well be seeing the man with the bullwhip action before the close of day one.

62nd over: India 130-6 (Jadeja 22, Sundar 0) Jadeja lets a Webster delivery go and it very nearly creeps back and plinks off his off bail. Tight lines. A four! Webster is full and Jadeja drives through mid-on to pick up a lesser spotted boundary.

61st over: India 125-6 (Jadeja 17, Sundar 0) Starc starts with a maiden but does slide one down the leg side that Carey can’t gather and two byes are added.

Time for a drink and a sweep of the inbox after all the excitemement. Hello to the OBO Bratpack of Kim Thonger, Brian Withington and Rowan Sweeney, good to have you along at this early hour in the UK. Frost clings to my living room windows as the sun beats down in Sydney. Hardly seems fair.

60th over: India 123-6 (Jadeja 17, Sundar 0) Jadeja deflects Webster for a couple of runs with velvet soft hands but Webster also beats him outside off stump with one that nips late. Every over there is a play and a miss at the moment.

Mitch Starc is coming on to see if he can scud out the Indian lower order and tail. Boland takes his leave with a spell of 2-4 off five overs. Who was calling him a trundler a few overs ago? Was that me? Well I freely admit that I am very, very drunk… on a lack of sleep.

59th over: India 121-6 (Jadeja 15, Sundar 0) Boland very nearly has five wickets in the innings as he gets consecutive balls to jag past Sundar’s edge. This pitch is definitely spicy, if India can get up to the 200 mark then this match is far from done. You’d imagine Jasprit Bumrah will be able to extract plenty from this sprightly surface. Never judge a wicket until both sides have batten on it and all that. Another 80 runs looks a long way away at the moment though.

58th over: India 121-6 (Jadeja 15, Sundar 0) Webster after the carnage, he oversteps in the excitement and it is the only run off the over. Scott Boland has 50 Test wickets at 18.64 now, not bad figures for a bloke who can’t get in the side when everyone is fit.

Washington Sundar is nearly cleaned up too! So close to pandemonium in Sydney as Boland skims a beauty past Sundar’s edge, Alex Carey drops it behind the stumps too! There was no edge, Carey can breathe a sigh of relief and everyone can just calm down for a second. Boland takes his cap and strides off down to the boundary edge where he is given a standing ovation. He looks completely calm, barely a flicker of emotion on his Zinc streaked face.

57th over: India 120-6 (Jadeja 15, Sundar 0)

Here we go! Boland on his way with the hat-trick ball…

56th over: India 119-4 (Pant 40, Jadeja 14) Big Beau called back by Cummins. He’s around the wicket with two slips and a gully in place. Close! He beats Pant twice in the over with balls that angle in and then nip away at the last. Pant then pokes a drive to pick up a couple but India aren’t going anywhere fast.

55th over: India 117-4 (Pant 38, Jadeja 14) Jadeja clips nicely off his pads for a couple of lesser spotted runs off Boland. Not before the metronomical trundler has him beaten on the outside edge. What’s a kinder word for trundler? Bustler? Hustler? Shuffler? He’s at 135 kph which is fine so maybe I should just shut my stupid face.

54th over: India 115-4 (Pant 37, Jadeja 12) Lyon tinkers with his field, trying to get into Pant’s noodle. A shorter ball is flat batted to mid-on but straight to the fielder. You guessed it, a maiden.

53rd over: India 115-4 (Pant 37, Jadeja 12) Boland with three slips and a gully, chugs in with his dander well and truly elevated. No, you stop it. Slices one back into Pant’s thigh and it looks like it avoided the protection. Another delay whilst the physio and magic sponge is summoned. Boland carves another maiden into his tablet.

52nd over: India 114-4 (Pant 37, Jadeja 12) Lyon from t’other end post tea. Jadeja cuts for a single. Will we see more of the same from Pant in the final session of the day or will he change tack and revert to the usual pyrotechnic approach?

Promise I’m not trying to tempt fate…

“You’ve done so well Rishabh, now you know what to do…”

Buzzers! Webster collects the ball as Pant attempts a quick single, lines up a catapult and the ball flies out of his hand like a greased up bar of soap. Where did that even go? Ah, over there – for five overthrows. A rueful smile and a few chuckles through gritted teeth.

51st over: India 108-4 (Pant 32, Jadeja 11) Scott Boland has the ball at the top of his mark, the camera lingers on his zinc smeared features and he duly licks his lips as if on cue. ‘He Actually does do that” as my three year old daughter would say.

He’s been at his best today so far, well he might slather his own chops. 2-15 from half a dozen overs with a couple of catches going down off him too. He rags one past Jadeja’s defensive prod and starts the session off with a - you guessed it- maiden over. Bolandtastic.

“Remember that day in 2017 when Warner scored a century before lunch, at which point Australia were 0-126?” Emails a nostalgic Gavin Robertson as the players mill about the boundary edge before their post prandial return. “Hard to reconcile that with today’s play, India only just at a combined century by tea.”

It’s been slow going but intriguing nonetheless, right Gavin? Gav?

49th over: India 100-4 (Pant 26, Jadeja 10) Cummins reels off his fourth maiden and crrrrrunches a ball back into Pant’s box. Hit ‘amidships’ and the batter hits the deck. After a deep breath or nine he’s good to go and Cummins does not relent, beating him with a back of a length ball that tails in and seams away late. Tough going out there. One more over til tea.

48th over: India 100-4 (Pant 26, Jadeja 10) Jadeja pops out of his self dug bunker to thrash a straight drive off Lyon for four, his first boundary in 47 balls sees India notch up 100. Pant is about to get another working over from the Miserly Cummins, it’s been a gutsy if slightly out of sorts knock by Pant today. Some suggesting his 26 from 71 balls and counting is a reaction to getting a rap on the knuckles from management. It could well be a bit of that coupled with a spicy deck and relentlessly demanding bowling too, mind.

47th over: India 95-4 (Pant 25, Jadeja 6) Cummins goes over and round, forward and abckward and over the Irish sea to a very scratchy looking Jadeja. Pat nearly pins him LBW with the final ball of the over but Umpire Michael Gough thinks it is going down the leg side and he is, of course, correct.

46th over: India 95-4 (Pant 25, Jadeja 6) Now then! Jadeja is DROPPED off Webster in the gully by Nathan Lyon. Tough chance but it carried, slapping Lyon on the wrists before hitting the turf. Would’ve been a decent first Test scalp for Beau.

Salt, meet Wound.

After the batter’s scamper a single off the drop Rishabh Pant comes alive and deposits Webster back over his head for a straight SIX! A ladder has to be fetched in order to retrieve the ball as things momentarily get a bit slapstick at the SCG. Webster shows his chops by immediately beating Pant with the next ball, the an away nipper that passes exceedingly close to the edge of the bat. From nowhere, an over of action!

45th over: India 88-4 (Pant 19, Jadeja 5) Jadeja works a single to leg and it is the only run off the over. India’s run rate flatter than a prone Michael Flatley in a block of flats in Flatbush after reading a 1* review of Riverdance. Flat.

44th over: India 87-4 (Pant 19, Jadeja 4) Thanks Angus and hello all. Still fine to say Happy New Year isn’t it? Where’s your cut off?

Webster stitches together his fourth maiden out of seven. What a day he is having, two good grabs, especially the one to see the back of Kohli – all he needs now is a maiden Test wicket… it surely won’t be long on this surface with the dangerous Pant and Jadeja hopping about and looking decidedly edgy.

43rd over: India 87-4 (Pant 19, Jadeja 4) Good grief, a FOUR! That flukey single in the last over has snapped Rishabh Pant awake and now he bludgeons a cut shot to the rope behind backward point. There’s a half shoutf rom Starc on the next delivery but the Australians decide it’s taken thigh pad so don’t review. Pant flicks square at a full one but Head stops it close-in. They get a consolation bye from the last.

Time for a cool change. Please welcome James Wallace to the OBO. Thanks for your company today. I’ll catch yers on the morrow!

42nd over: India 82-4 (Pant 15, Jadeja 4) Finally a run! But it was accidental. Webster put a length ball angling in at Pant who went to defend and got an inside edge to fine leg.

41st over: India 81-4 (Pant 14, Jadeja 4) Nine runs, nine overs. And no sign of relief in this over either as Starc zeroes in on Ravi Jadeja’s off stump. Now Starc singes Jadeja’s nose hairs with a bouncer that requires evasive action. Another maiden.

Balmain-born Hollywood bombshell Rose Byrne is at the SCG. Let’s hope she gets to read a poem to the Australians in the tea break.

40th over: India 81-4 (Pant 14, Jadeja 4) The new boy is back. Four overs for two runs so far for the big fella from Snug (pop 1440) south of Hobart. He adds another maiden to that impressive set of figures, floating most into the Channel Highway outside off.

There was a lovely moment this morning when Mitchell Marsh, the man Beau Webster displaced from this side, embraced the Webster family at the baggy green ceremony.

39th over: India 81-4 (Pant 14, Jadeja 4) Starc’s second spell has been a beauty. The fourth ball of this over nudges 147kph. Alex Carey, another former AFL wunderkind, has to fly high to mark that one. Another maiden for Starc, his third from 10 overs.

38th over: India 81-4 (Pant 14, Jadeja 1) Pants on fire? Boland on fire! He skins Jadeja twice in two balls with sideways movement. Sublime bowling. Jadeja escapes with a single to mid-on. Now he jags one back at Pant who is doubled over trying to keep it out. A repeat act on the next ball as Pant hops into a riser and buckles at the impact.

Peter Moller approves of big Beau Webster’s catching prowess: “The new guy is 3rd and 4th slip – and gully!” It’s quite the wingspan ain’t it? Apparently that 200cm frame was heading for the AFL until a game for the Tasmanian Under-17s marking future Sydney Swans ruckman Brody Grundy made Webster decide to chase the cricket dream instead.

37th over: India 78-4 (Pant 12, Jadeja 3) Pant hit in the helmet! Starc bashed that into the pitch at 145kph and Pant blinked, dropped his arms and let the ball cannon into the gap between his shoulder and helmet grille. Starc shows immediate concern for the batter in a fine act of sportsmanship. After a concussion test, pant is declared AOK. he takes two runs to prove it but then leaves one which whispers to the varnish on off stump. Close!

We mentioned earlier that Peter Handscomb, Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann have been called into the wider Australia squad with a view to touring Sri Lanka later this month. That squad will be named shortly after this series ends but the dark horse for a Test recall is Glenn Maxwell. Did you see The Big Show’s catch the other night?

36th over: India 76-4 (Pant 10, Jadeja 3) India’s run rate today is 2.16. Scott Boland, with 2-14 from his 10 overs so far, isn’t going to release the valve. he slides one past Jadeja’s outside edge to a wave of OOOHs from the crowd. No other bowler has found the movement of the 35-year-old Gulidjan man from Melbourne. His 48 Test wickets have come every 41 balls at an average of under 19. He delivers another menacing maiden.

35th over: India 76-4 (Pant 10, Jadeja 3) Ravindra Jadeja has been given a life by Steve Smith. Can he make nit count? The 36-year-old allrounder from Saurashtra stills sit No 1 as the world’s best ranked allrounder although Pat Cummins is thee big mover, now sitting fourth after his 49 and 41 with the bat in the fourth Test. Mitchell Starc is back – and HOW! He thumps his third delivery into Pant’s forearm who reels from the contact and calls for the medics. Ice packs, cold drinks, soothing words of comfort. Pant gets the Florence Nightingale treatment before facing up again. But Starc is snarling and straight. A fourth consecutive maiden.

34th over: India 76-4 (Pant 10, Jadeja 3) DROPPED! Smith spills a sitter. That was a thick edge from Jadeja from another sweet delivery by Boland and Smith at second slip seemed unsure whether to go fingers up or down. In the end, he got caught in two minds and jumped as the ball cannoned through his hands and into his chest.

Jadeja lives twice!

33rd over: India 76-4 (Pant 10, Jadeja 3) Cummins is still wicketless but each of the four dismissals has been aided by his nagging line at the other end. Now he draws Rishabh Pant into rushing a straight ball. Dangerous! Pant miscues the heave and the ball bottom edges towards the stumps before off-breaking back the other way. That’s the kind of brain explosion that cost Pant his wicket in Melbourne and sent India down the tubes.

32nd over: India 76-4 (Pant 8, Jadeja 3) Another great over from Boland and a second spectacular catch by Beau Webster. Kohli gave Pant a long glare after that dismissal. I think he had the pip about being sent back on a single the previous ball. Ego pricked, Kohi erred next ball and is now back in the sheds. Ravi Jadeja is the new batter and breezily tonks a three to get off the mark.

31st over: India 71-3 (Kohli 17, Pant 8) Cummins v Kohli. What a duel we have here. Kohli knows it too, tries to make a statement by driving at the first. No runs again. He stabs at the second too but it’s on him quicker this time and it lobs dangerously for a moment before falling short of mid-off. Cummins is into his 10th over. Once again he has this team on his back dragging them to glory. Kohli sense the challenge and on drives a full ball successfully this time. He gets three. Pant digs one out of his navel for a single and Sean Abbott the substitute fielder reels it in.

30th over: India 65-3 (Kohli 13, Pant 6) Almost bowled! Boland angled it at back at Pant’s midriff and he chopped down hard and watched aghast as the ball inside edged, fizzed backwards and bounced just over the bails. Close! Boland has India on the hop and the ball nipping and Pat Cummins brings Travis Head into short leg to up the ante further. Australia now has three slips and two gullies as they press for a fourth wicket.

29th over: India 64-3 (Kohli 12, Pant 6) Glanced for FOUR! Good shot by Pant. It breaks the drought for India. Until that shot, they had only hit three boundaries from 28 overs. Pat Cummins cops it sweet, puts the next few past Pant’s jugular at 138kph.

28th over: India 60-3 (Kohli 12, Pant 2) Boland is aiming for his fourth consecutive maiden. He has 1-5 so far after almost having 2-0 in his first over. Pant works a single from the third ball but Kohli can’t get going. His 12 has from 60 balls and he hasn’t scored from the last 27 balls. He shimmies one off the hip and sets off but Konstas swoops to cut off the run. Screws turning on India.

27th over: India 59-3 (Kohli 12, Pant 1) Rishabh Pant faces up. His reckless slog in the fourth Test was a gift to Travis Head after Mitchell Marsh took a fine tumbling catch in the outer. That sparked a clatter of wickets and cost India a shot at a draw. Can he make amends today? Pant is in his 43rd Test and has an average of 43 so he’s certainly capable. He takes a single to plot his redemption arc as Kohli tries to counter Cummins. A huge off drive to the last but it’s straight to mid-off.

26th over: India 58-3 (Kohli 12), Pant 0) How was your lunch? I’m still going on Christmas ham even though that once-pink haunch is looking a little green around the Shubmans. The only thing greener might be India’s No 3 himself whose last-ball dismissal before the break might have turned his food to ash before he swallowed it.

Scott Boland has the ball and Virat Kohli in his sights. Big Scotty is bang on line and Kohli digests all six without having a waft at any of them. A maiden.

There have been a swathe of emails during the first session. Thanks for all those and apologies for not getting to them sooner.

Sam from New Zealand says the third umpire made the right call disallowing the Kohli catch: “Mark Waugh is having a bit of a meltdown on the TV. They seem to think Smith having a finger under the ball makes it not out, but the rule clearly states that if the ball is moving while touching the ground (which the evidence showed) then it has to be not out. If Smith had a clean grasp on the ball he would have held it, not flicked it up.”

Gervase Greene throws in his tuppence worth: “Smith I’m sure believes he scooped the ball up cleanly, with no ground involved… but the fact is the slipper is rarely in the best position to know. The upward momentum of the ball will feel the same whether it bounced solely off his finger(s) or not. Doesn’t make him a liar or a cheat, but it does mean the video review rightly has to judge. A fair call, imo.”

Rowan Sweeney has a darker theory: “Did Australia steal Joel Wilson’s girlfriend or something? At this point it seems personal.”

Meanwhile, Geoff Wignall is questioning whether Rohit Sharma’s decision to rest himself from this fifth Test has added balance to the India XI – or sent it skew-whiff. “On recent form, Sharma ‘resting himself’ ought to strengthen the Indian batting; but Jadeja at 6 and Bumrah at 9? Hmm…”

Thanks Geoff. Given Bumrah scored a pair in the last Test, I think India should have dropped him ;) Rohit’s “rest” might well be Jasprit’s salvation!

25th over: India 56-2 (Gill 20, Kohli 11) Lyon to Kohli. Will we see some spark in these final moments?

24th over: India 56-2 (Gill 20, Kohli 11) Increasingly blue skies are piercing the morning’s heavy cloud cover at the SCG to see Beau Webster’s fourth over. India are inching along at just over two per over but if they make the safety of lunch two-down they’ll consider it a moral victory. Another maiden.

23rd over: India 56-2 (Gill 20, Kohli 11) Come in spinner. Nathan Lyon gets a whirl before lunch. He has a long-running duel with Virat Kohli and it resumes now. Kohli watches the first couple before skipping down a step with a wristy whip that runs square. Sam Konstas, who copped a shoulder charge from Kohli his boyhood hero at the MCG, is there to stop runs. The Lyon experiment starts with a maiden.

22nd over: India 56-2 (Gill 20, Kohli 11) Webster is in a nice groove here. Nerves are settling and he’s found a sweet spot outside off stump that has Shubman Gill thinking hard. A well bowled maiden for the debutant.

21st over: India 56-2 (Gill 20, Kohli 11) Edged but safe! Gill flashed at Starc’s first ball but he flashed hard enough to send it over slips and to the boundary for four. Starc’s speed isn’t getting beyond 140kph and there’s still no swing on offer. A single from the last last takes the partnership to 39. A bit of blue sky poking through at the SCG now.

20th over: India 51-2 (Gill 15, Kohli 11) Second over for Beau Webster whose silver earring is catching the light and the eye under the SCG lights. Gill taps a single from the second. Now The Slug has The King on strike but straight and full delivers four dots.

19th over: India 50-2 (Gill 14, Kohli 11) As Mitchell Starc returns to the attack, the Kohli-Gill partnership moves to 26 runs from 65 balls. That’s 64 balls more than it looked to have survived after Kohli edged the first ball he faced to Steve Smith. The decision to disallow that catch is still being debated at the ground and all over the world. But the fact remains: Kohli is still batting. India steal four byes when Starc sends a bouncer flying beyond Alex Carey’s reach. Gill then takes two off the bat with a punch down the ground.

18th over: India 43-2 (Gill 14, Kohli 9) Beau Webster has the ball for his first over in Test cricket. His first ball… is a no ball. His second is driven to mid-off but Cummins stops runs. The 200cm allrounder is sending them down at 125kph and from a height of roughly three metres. There’s a shout for lbw against Gill on ball five but umpire shakes his head. Down leg side. Six dots to close. A tidy welcome to Test cricket for the man they call “The Slug from Snug”.

17th over: India 42-2 (Gill 14, Kohli 9) Cummins is into his seventh over. Can’t be long until Beau Webster gets a bowl here. He has already taken a wonderful catch to help dismiss Yashasvi Jaiswal. Can his right arm medium-fast make an impact today?

We’re getting word that Todd Murphy, Matt Kuhnemann and Peter Handscomb have been called to Sydney to join the squad ahead of the tour of Sri Lanka

16th over: India 42-2 (Gill 14, Kohli 9) Another four to fine leg. This Boland delivery angles across Gill and catches enough thigh pad to run to the rope. Smith doesn’t think a legitimate shot was offered but the runs are on the scoreboard.

15th over: India 38-2 (Gill 14, Kohli 9) Close! But Shubman Gill’s inside edge sails just over the bails and runs for four. Cummins, already a bit snakey after that Kohli catch was denied, swivels quickly and returns to his mark. Next ball is in the corridor and Gill wants to pounce but watches it pass. He then walks across his stumps to steer a run to square leg. Sam Konstas fields with that now trademark grin. I think the kid from Kogarah has officially taken Daniel Ricciardo’s mantle as Greatest Smile in Australian Sport.

14th over: India 33-2 (Gill 9, Kohli 9) If Kohli is feeling lucky after that close call, it isn’t showing. Like a true King he think it’s his sovereign right to let the people watch him bat today. And so we will. But he can’t take Scott Boland for a run in this over.

13th over: India 33-2 (Gill 9, Kohli 9) Plenty of debate raging in the drinks break. As if this crowd wasn’t buzzing anyway, they now have the Greatest Catch Never Taken to talk about. End result: Virat Kohli is still batting and Steve Smith is still is shaking his head. The King takes a single from Cummins to add a grain of salt to the wound.

12th over: India 32-2 (Gill 9, Kohli 8) Boland gets clipped for a single by Gill. Kohli does likewise to the fourth but gives it more mustard. Only a valiant dive by Sam Konstas saves the boundary. But Kohli has moved to eight runs from his 12 deliveries. And now a huge appeal for lbw. Umpire has ruled not out but Australia review…. NOT OUT. Replays show the ball sailing over the stumps.

11th over: India 28-2 (Gill 8, Kohli 5) Pat Cummins continues. And Gill off-drives him down the ground for three. Handsome shot and there’s a sense that India are going to ride their luck now, with both batters showing a willingness to attack the bowling.

10th over: India 23-2 (Gill 4, Kohli 4) Boland returns with 1-0. But it was millimetres from being 2-0 and putting him on a hat-trick. What a moment that might’ve been. And what a talking point in this Test already. Smith certainly believed his catching hand never made contact with the ground. But India fans will doubtless see it as karma after they were on the wrong side of what they perceived to be line-ball decisions in Melbourne. Kohli is off the mark with a driven two and a straight drive to mid-off.

9th over: India 22-2 (Gill 3, Kohli 4) Virat Kohli has survived that catch/ no catch controversy. Can he kick on? The TV images showed Smith diving full stretch low to his right. He got the grippers under the ball it seemed but hard contact with the turf bobbled the ball up and flicked it to Labuschagne at gully. The Australians went crazy but umpire Joel Wilson in the third umpire’s chair said the ball brushed the ground.

8th over: India 17-2 (Gill 2, Kohli 0) Has Boland done it again?! Strike me pink! Kohli has got an edge first ball and Smith has got his fingers under it and sent it up to Webster to catch. Golden duck for King Kohli?! Boland on a hat trick?! Hang on, we will review this … third umpire says NO. Controversy reigns!

7th over: India 16-1 (Jaiswal 10, Gill 2) The first three days of this SCG Test are sold out and a robust crowd have charged in this morning. They see Starc angling in at Jaiswal’s legs. The first two are too straight to have a lash at but the third is fractionally wide down the leg side and allows a run. The “resting” former India captain Rohit Sharma is watching forlornly from the stately SCG visitor’s dressing room alongside Virat Kohlu whio is likely playing his final Test in Australia. Gill steals a single from the last.

Tim Marsland writes in from New Zealand to inform me that my typo has hidden meaning: “A note re the Over 7 comments ..here in NZ a “ whio” is a native “blue duck “. …a new descriptor for a great batsman on their way down the stream?”

6th over: India 14-1 (Jaiswal 9, Gill 1) Shubman Gill is the new batter. He was somewhat controversially omitted from the fourth Test but comes in for the “resting” Rohit Sharma. He averages 42 in India but only 28 away. There’s no doubting his talent but his 32 Tests so far have yielded only an average of 35. He gets off the mark smartly here. A Boland misfield on the last gets Jaiswal another run and retention of the strike.

5th over: India 11-0 (Jaiswal 7, Rahul 4) Starc has his pace up to 140kph. Given he’s played all five Tests and the rib niggle he suffered through in Melbourne, Starc will want to ease into his work to last the five days. Australia have Scott Boland as first change and Beau Webster next with his ability to bowl medium pace and off spin. He beats Rahul with a lifting delivery and then goes within a tally-ho of the bat. Tension rising t the SCG.

4th over: India 11-0 (Jaiswal 7, Rahul 4) Cummins gets a fresh look at Rahul. This green pitch still seems a little soft but that hard core will soon make itself known if we get the high heat forecast for days two and three. Rahul takes one off his hip for a run. Jaiswal is then beaten for a fourth time by Cummins. Finally a hint of swing as Jaiswal shoulders arms to a ball that veers back to pass over the stumps. A dangerous, if successful, leave.

3rd over: India 10-0 (Jaiswal 7, Rahul 3) Jaiswal takes a run from Starc. Big Mitch is slowly getting his radar right. Rahul watches a few fly past the edge. Still no discernible swing from Starc as he slides it right to left across the right hander. Rahul leans nicely into the wider final ball, driving to just inside the rope for three.

2nd over: India 6-0 (Jaiswal 6, Rahul 0) Pat Cummins to KL Rahul. Captain Pat’s first ball rears up but Jaiswal’s soft hands and a high elbow keep it down. This SCG pitch looks greener than usual with plenty of live grass bristling on the surface. Here’s a live one as Jaiswal is beaten by the third. The fourth ball is a cross seam peach that slides past the bat and seams in after passing the batter. Another superb lifter leaves Jaiswal swatting air. Finally, Cummins loses his line and Rahul takes it off the pad to get off the mark.

1st over: India 5-0 (Jaiswal 5, Rahul 0) Starc steams in to Jaiswal who gets a firm bat on the first two. Beau Webster has set up camp at third slip and with his 200cm frame and massive wingspan he’ll be an asset in that area. Jaiswal banks his first asset of the day, spanking an attempted yorker on a leg stump line to the boundary. No swing for Starc yet but good lift on the fifth gets Jaiswal hopping. He tamps it into the turf and runs a single. Good play from the youngster who averages 55+ from his 19 Tests.

The Australian team huddle has broken, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul are striding to the middle and Mitchell Starc has the ball. The first Test of 2025 is about to begin.

Batten ‘em down and buckle ‘em up, folks… here we go.

The didj is ringing out and Gadigal elder Alen Madden has our Welcome to Country under way. “For my first song…” he begins to laughter around the ground.

A huge Sydney crowd, who have been early to their seats, give Allen a rousing round of aplause and stand reverent as Shanul Sharma delivers a beautiful national anthem of India. Time for Australia to respond…

Under overcast but rain-free skies, huge queues are snaking into the SCG. Plenty will be disappointed not to be seeing hometown sensation Sam Konstas bat but watching local heroes Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc open the bowling isn’t a bad second prize.

Cummins sees potential in the elements: “Overcast conditions so hopefully we can get the ball to swing around a bit. All the boys have pulled up well after a short turnaround.”

Players are about to set foot on the hallowed Sydney turf for the pre-match ceremonies. India legend Ravi Shastri and former Australia captain Mark Taylor are bringing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to the podium.

Here are the starting XIs

Australia: 1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Sam Konstas, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Beau Webster, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Scott Boland

India: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rishabh Pant, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna

As expected for India, KL Rahul has been elevated to opener to replace Rohit Sharma. Shubman Gill returns to the side after missing the side in Melbourne and Prasidh Krishna, the 28-year-old quick from Bangalore, will play his third Test.

Last week debutant Sam Konstas lit up the cricket world. The new face in Australia’s XI today is Beau Webster, a 31-year-old allrounder from the town of Snug, Tasmania.

Webster was presented with Baggy Green #469 this morning by the great Mark Waugh and his ascension has been widely praised. Webster has averaged 57.1 with the bat at first-class level since March 2022 and taken 81 wickets at 31.7 in the same period.

Last summer, he scored 938 runs at 58.62 in Sheffield Shield, including three centuries, while also bagging 30 wickets to help Tasmania reach the final. Only one cricketer has bettered those numbers in a Shield campaign - some bloke called Sir Garfield Sobers ;)

This is the Pink Test, a proud tradition since 2009 in which Cricket Australia and the SCG Trust combine with the McGrath Foundation to raise awareness and much needed funds for breast cancer.

Jane McGrath, wife of Australia Test legend Glenn, was a beloved figure. Jane passed away from the disease in 2008 but her legacy is mighty and this week we honour it. The McGrath Foundation has supported more than 150,000 families across Australia and in 2024, it supported 15,720 new families. So farIf you’d like to support the cause please donate. You can buy a Virtual Pink Seat here for the five days of the Test.

Australia’s players have their pink caps on and will present them to Glenn McGrath shortly whereupon they’ll be auctioned off. The cause is close to their hearts and clearly inspires their efforts on the field. Of the 17 Pink Tests, Australia has won nine, drawn seven (including the one India made in the 2020/21 tour) and lost just once.

There has been major intrigue in the India camp all week with conjecture of a team divided and captain Rohit Sharma about to a) “rest” himself for the Test, b) fall on his sword and resign and/ or retire, c) be axed by selectors for the fifth Test, or d) be retained at the behest of higher powers at the BCCI.

Amidst all the action and emotion it’s easy to forget that Sharma missed the first Test in Perth, where Jasprit Bumrah led India to a magnificent win and a 1-0 series lead. Since the 37-year-old Sharma’s arrival, India have looked unbalanced and the once imperious strokeplay of the skipper has been MIA, with scores of 3, 6, 10, 3 and 9.

The plot thickened yesterday when Sharma didn’t show up to the official press conference and India coach Gautam Gambhir did the duties. Gambhir was spotted in long discussions with Bumrah later that day as rumours heated up that Sharma was out. Nor did Sharma field in slips at India’s training session on the SCG yesterday.

Given it’s the first Test of a new year, the Australia and India squads were hosted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Kirribilli House on the first day of 2025.

The weather? It isn’t raining in Sydney although a heavy dew fell overnight and skies are currently grey. There is a slight chance (20%, I’m told) of an early shower but the latest news from the Bureau is that Day One will likely be uninterrupted: a 26C day with light winds of 15-20kph. For the first three days at least, the forecast is all clear.

Given Sydney’s fickle meteorology – 26 days have been washed out at SCG Tests compared with nine for MCG Tests – that’s a great result. Days four and five look dicier, with a typically tempestuous mix of high heat, rain bombs and lightning. But hey, let’s live for the day and worry about that if/ when it happens.

Australia and India have been battling it out on the cricket field since 1947 when Don Bradman (715 runs at 178.75) and Ray Lindwall (18 wickets at 16.88) led Australia to a 4-0 victory.

Over 111 Tests, Australia have won 47, India 33 with 30 draws and one tie. India’s series victories in Australia in 2018-19 and 2020-21 shifted the balance of power but Australia’s famous victory at the MCG may signal a new era of dominance.

Regardless of how the next five days play out, both proud nations can set aside their rivalry and declare the cliche as rolled gold truth: Test cricket has been the big winner.