IND vs AUS Matt Page on MCG Pitch Report: The series is currently level at 1-1 after India achieved a draw in the third Test in Brisbane. The Boxing Day Test will begin on 26 December at the prestigious Melbourne Cricket Ground. Meanwhile, ahead of the Boxing Day Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) chief curator Matt Page on Monday said that they have not made any changes to the pitch of the stadium due to the balls. The Kookaburra ball used in Australia has a less prominent seam and softens quickly, making it more difficult for bowlers to use than the Dukes, which favors seam and swing bowling.
Page said about the pitch in the press conference
Speaking at the press conference, Page said that the pitch will provide opportunities to the bowlers at different points of the game and will also give opportunities to the batsmen. “No, so we haven’t made any changes to our pitches because of the balls. As I said, we basically sat down seven years ago, after 2017, to discuss where we wanted to go as an organization and we Want to be famous for, and it’s in the Test matches that are going to provide an exciting competition, I think. It gives opportunities to the bowlers at different points of the game, but it also gives opportunities to the batsmen. “If you play well,” Matt Page told reporters.
The chief curator said that first they played with the length of the grass of the pitch and after that, they reached the level they wanted to reach. “So we tried with grass length, compaction level, moisture level and it probably took us three years to get to where we wanted to get to and then we’ve probably been there for the last two or three years,” he said. “We leave them a little more grass than before, but it’s made for exciting games and that’s what we want to do.”
Earlier last week, Australia made some changes to their team in response to the absence of Josh Hazlewood and concerns at the top of the order. The host team has included Beau Webster, Jhye Richardson and Sam Konstas in the squad ahead of the fourth Test match of the series. After suffering a mild side strain in the Perth Test, which ruled him out of the second Adelaide Test, Hazlewood returned for the third match in Brisbane, but suffered a calf strain during the warm-up on the fourth day. He bowled one over and left the field for scans, which confirmed the severity of his injury and ruled him out of the series.
In the first Test in Perth, Hazlewood took five wickets, including four in the first innings. Scott Boland can be included in place of Hazlewood in Australia’s playing eleven for the fourth Test starting on December 26 at the MCG.
India team: Rohit Sharma (captain), Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Australia team: Pat Cummins (captain), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (vice-captain), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstans, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (vice-captain), Mitchell Starc. , Beau Webster.
