LIVE: India vs Australia, 4th Test, Day 1 at Dharamsala: Steve Smith, David Warner take Aussies past 50-run mark.
Welcome to our Day 1 live coverage of the fourth and final Test match between India and Australia, being played at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharmasala.
Over 14 | Score 67/1 | Smith 36*; Warner 26*
Ashwin to Warner. This what the home team wants. Escapes with a single, though. Two off the over
Over 13 | Score 65/1 | Smith 35*; Warner 25*
That last over certainly showed that confident Warner was nervous against that spin attack. Bhuvi continues. A single and fifty-partnership come up for the duo. Wide of the crease and travels down deep point for a boundary. Excellent from the skipper. He is certainly ruling the pitch
Over 12 | Score 59/1 | Smith 30*; Warner 24*
Kumar into the attack. Varying his length. Last ball, cracks for a boundary. Runs are just rushing in for the batting side.
Finally, its Ashwin who comes in. Round the wicket. Warner steps out, sliced away, tries the big one, but no fielder and misses. Two off the over
Over 10 | Score 52/1 | Smith 25*; Warner 22*
Kumar comes back strong with a maiden after all that Aussie firing off the last few overs. Ot-swinger is what his weapon is and has been using it smartly in that last over.
Yadav comes in. Wide of a crease, out-swinger and it whistles past mid-on for a four.
Over 8 | Score 45/1 | Smith 19*; Warner 21*
Kumar with the ball and travels all the way to the boundary. Runs will obviously come fast on a pitch like this. Kumar now going for loose balls. Edged for an another boundary off Warner's bat.
Yadav, whacked for a four by the skipper, over the cover region. Amazing display with the bat from the duo. And then another. Aussies are on fire at Dharamsala. 11 off that over.
Over 6 | Score 26/1 | Smith 8*; Warner 16*
Kumar with the ball. He seems to love to swing the ball. Smith looking dangerous with that two, aiming to play on the line. Goes round the wicket, but no help gets another two.
Yadav comes up. There is a barren patch around the good-length area. Seems like a team plan to attack round the wicket. Ball has been changed after been checked through the hoops.
Over 4 | Score 17/1 | Smith 1*; Warner 15*
Umesh back in attack. Length ball, off the hip to fine short leg and Warner gets a single. Warner drives another down cover to get a four. Beautifully timed.
Over 3| Score 11/1 | Smith 0* ;
Warner 10* Renshaw at strike as Umesh Yadav comes up with the ball. WICKET! A Perfect pitched-up outswinger and Yadav pegs Renshaw off. Beauty by the bowler. Walks in, the skipper Smith.
Kumar with the ball now, Smith on strike. Testing with out-swingers. MT Renshaw b Yadav 1 (6b)
Over 1| Score 10/0 | Renshaw 1* ;
Warner 9* Bhuvneshwar Kumar opens up for the Indians and David Warner is at strike. First ball, edged, Karun Nair misses a great opportunity to dismiss the opener and it travels to the boundary.
Last ball, outside off, beautifully timed cover drive for a four
Indian captain Virat Kohli was rendered a highly doubtful starter for the series finale, a scenario that has put the hosts under immense pressure on the eve of the decider of the bitterly fought series. With the high-voltage rubber locked at 1-1, things couldn't have got worse for India as their captain admitted that he is not hundred percent fit going into the match, starting here tomorrow, with a threat of "aggravating the injury in the field" looming.
The pre-match statement was kind of a giveaway that Kohli's chances of playing are dim in a match where his presence as a leader is required the most. While Kohli the batsman had a nightmare of a series, the absence of a quality batsman like him can prove to be a game-changer unless his replacement Shreyas Iyer fires big time.
If Kohli fails to turn up, then his stand-in Ajinkya Rahane will have a tough time against the 'marauding' visitors. In such a scenario, he will need strong backing from the likes of Cheteswhar Pujara, Murali Vijay, Ravichandran Ashwin, etc.
India will take heart from the fact that Mohammed Shami is all but ready to have a go at the Aussies. He is likely to replace Ishant Sharma in the XI.
For the Aussies, speculations are rife that they will enter the same XI which held India to a draw in Ranchi.
But there are talks of Jackson Bird playing the match, in place of Steve O'Keefe.
The theory is, Aussies are going with three quicks. Here's everything you need to know about the match:
TV listing: Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD 1 — ENGLISH; Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD 3 — HINDI Live streaming: Hotstar Date: March 25-29, 2017 Time: 9:30 IST (Everyday)
Venue: Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharmasala
Squads: India: Virat Kohli (C), KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Abhinav Mukund, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jayant Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Shami. Australia: Steve Smith (C), Matt Renshaw, David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscombe, Matthew Wade (wk), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Steve O'Keefe, Jackson Bird, Mitchell Swepson, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Agar, Usman Khwaja, Pat Cummins.