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Glad to hear the Aussies are currently on a roll following the first day of this deciding World Heavyweight Championship like Test match from the Sydney Cricket Ground as they are currently 9-1 with a 175 run trail having already bowled India all out under 200 a while ago for just 185.

Yes, they may have lost the toss to India who elected the opportunity to bat first but hey, at least the Aussies got themselves going with early wickets on the board amid some controversial appeals from the third umpire along the way. 

At first, we thought Steve Smith took a catch by lifting the ball off the ground before it went into the fielders hands which should’ve been out but then they said no. 

Then this second one – although relieved when the Aussies managed to get rid of Washington Sundar – Indian fans weren’t happy when Pat Cummins heard a knick off the bat before he used the appeal to great effect & he got what he wanted which was ultimately successful. 

It wasn’t the first time Pat Cummins uncovered India’s dirty secret having done that to opener Yashasvi Jaiswal a few days ago that led to Australia keeping themselves alive in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy race on the final day’s play of the previous Test at the MCG in Melbourne.

Other than that as said with the controversial appeals as well as the missed dropped catches, they were top notch as always when it comes to their fast bowling group where Scott Boland was brilliant once again with four on hand alongside Mitchell Starc of 3 wickets while Pat Cummins collected two + the catch of the quick scoring keeper Rishabh Pant for 40.

Plus, special shoutout to all-rounder debutant Beau Webster also with two early wicket catches including the dismissal of veteran Virat Kohli. So does our other new cult teenage hero from Kogarah in the St Georges NSW area Sam Konstas, who not only made a couple of stunning catches but also wowed Jasprit Bumrah yet again so far as the opener first ball boundary through square for four.

Let’s hope Sam can continue to shine especially on home turf by building on his debut Test 50 from the Boxing Day Melbourne Test last week going into Day 2 tomorrow as take it easy since it’s Tests not the Big Bash. But he will have to get through this shift with a new partner though in Marnus Labuschagne after Usman Khawaja got out that quick sadly on the last ball of today – also by Bumrah who continues to be lethal as one of the world’s elite fast bowlers of the game.

1 down, 3-4 days to go with Australia currently on the up and India fighting hard to pull up on their own where they can also change this storyline off the kookaburra ball too. So yeah, a big partnership from a big top-order batting performance should be key for the Aussies to be in the box seat and hopefully regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy through this weekend – that’s all.

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Who would’ve thought this would happen when there’s not much time left on the final day’s play but we got a result to settle though and it turned to be a good one with Australia victorious over India by 184 runs in order to keep their series hopes alive 2-1 going into the Sydney Cricket Ground decider starting Friday.

We began the morning with the Aussies all out for 234 with a 339 run lead after Nathan Lyon was bowled through the stumps for 41 by India’s frontline fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah who did collect his 5fer after all. That leaves India 340 to chase in order to not just win this match but also retain the series where they’ve been holding that firm for so many years now since March 2017 on home soil.

Fortunately, Australia got away with early wickets with one by Mitchell Starc and two from captain Pat Cummins – he’s a top bowling all-rounder of any kind even though scoring 40 odd runs across both spells at No.8 isn’t bad. Here’s a special shoutout to Travis Head by the way despite an underwhelming batting shift who got a wicket off Rishabh Pant and he’s a part-time spinner by the way in addition to batting on the top order (No.5).

Then Scotty Boland “the MCG hero” came in to save the day by dismantling the other India half batting card. That lower order they’ve got on there can still be terrifying as if all of their starting XI are batters including one that has eventually shrugged the good look of Yashasvi Jaiswal’s face after he actually knicked the ball straight into Alex Carey’s gloves. 

He top scored 84 by the way and has been a brilliant opener through the course of this series so far but safe to say that he mistimed that hook shot unfortunately. 

And the rest as the Aussies say is history who somehow managed to reach their arm’s length towards victory with thanks also to Nathan Lyon via LBW against Mohammed Siraj. He’s usually good when bowling offies having got rid of Day 3 centurion Nitish Kumar Reddy while he can bat a bit at the tail as seen throughout yesterday afternoon & he is still at it at 37.

What more can we say? Our batters are revved up and still on track to achieve something special again that could be championship-winning for the Sydney decider.

We’ve got a new cult hero and he’s only under 20 in Sam Konstas as sure he will continue to keep learning on what it takes to have a positive approach at Test level like scoring heaps of quick runs along the way when David Warner is now gone as message already sent worldwide including England who will come here next Summer for the home Ashes. Also, Steve Smith still on form, so does Marnus Labuschagne, and Usman Khawaja still has something left in the tank at 38 – at least for another 12 months when he wants to finish off on a high note especially against the English.

Now that we’ve done a victory shoutout lap to the Aussie Men’s Cricket Team after their triumphant win, they only have one job to go and they better take this series deciding opportunity with both hands. That way, we know the Aussies will go one step closer to not just beating India for this next Test but also the series on what has been a top-notch World Heavyweight Championship contest so far as if cricket meets boxing or WWE when writing an excelled scripted series storyline like this Test.

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We thought the Aussies were so doomed following their okay start when our top and middle order cards may have been collapsed during the fourth day’s play today but at least they’ve hung in there through the end at around 6pm AEDT with thanks to Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland even though they only have a wicket remaining against them. Now they are in a good position to not just lock in this 4th Test, the Aussies can also keep their series hopes alive going into the 5th and final test in Sydney 2-1 starting Friday.

As said, it was lovely to see Lyon scoring runs wherever possible by filling in the gaps with Boland backing him up while Captain courageous Pat Cummins scored another 40-odd run haul in his 2nd shift – all coming from the tail end sans Marnus Labuschagne who scored not bad at 3.

Other than that, things are still left to be desired where they could’ve done any better. Yes, felt sorry for 19-year-old Sam Konstas but he needs to be more like a proper Test batsman and not just swashbuckling shots downtown all day off the back of his debut 50 back in Day 1, particularly when playing against the red Kookaburra ball. What disappoints me the most though is fast bowling all-rounder Mitchell Marsh who keeps on failing to justify his spot in the team both bat and ball apart from his brilliant catches on the field – about time we bring Beau Webster in & it needs to happen now, that’s all!!

What else? India also continued to enjoy a solid day until Lyon & Boland saved the day for the Aussies this afternoon with Jasprit Bumrah leading the way in the fast bowling department alongside Mohammed Siraj, although he wouldn’t be impressed after giving away a few no balls whilst being tired trying to finish off Australia’s 2nd innings total right there – so frustrating isn’t it.

Who knows if Bumrah will be getting his next 5fer tomorrow despite his expansive afternoon v Lyon & Boland today but I guess the Aussies would want to declare a bit later if Lyon gets his 50 as soon as we’re back to finish things off tomorrow morning.

As it stands, Australia are currently 228/9 with a 333 run lead – so whichever score they end up either way through the last wicket fall or a declaration if Lyon gets his 50, India would have to chase that total to both win this one as well as this series.

Then it’s up to our bowlers to get this done quick smart including India’s lower order who can be ruthless as if all of their batters are more than capable at scoring runs than everyone else but so can the Aussies as proved this afternoon. They have one job to get this done by the end of tomorrow at 6pm and that is to win this match on what has been a top-notch four days between the two teams at the MCG!

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The Aussies had a great opportunity to finish off the work with the ball when Day 3 resumed first thing this morning but not what we wanted unfortunately off the back of India’s stunning lower-order batting extravaganza that kept them going like Washington Sundar’s 50 while their fast-bowling all-rounder scored his maiden Test 100 after only four caps at 21 years of age in Nitish Kumar Reddy. 

Yes, it’s been a bitter pain pill to swallow from the Aussies when they just couldn’t make the most out of their catches while letting runs slide against their way. 

But they only got a wicket to finish off now albeit with a reduced 116 run lead at 358 as the Aussies will need to bat again since they can no longer take advantage of the follow-on option now that Day 3 has already passed due to bad light and rain with two more days to go in this Boxing Day Test of 2024. We will need to count on our new opener and cult-hero Sam Konstas to deliver the goods quick smart like he did on Day 1 when the Aussies won the toss to bat with his debut Test 50 (scored 60) as his 2nd spell should be the key to keeping this series alive with one Test to go (a draw wouldn’t be bad to bring this to a decider) even though he’s just getting started at the ripe age of 19.

I mean, wow, two youngsters making a name for themselves at such a young age from the moment they were born in the mid 2000s to making a name for themselves through the ranks from juniors and now both of them have made a statement for themselves in front of 70,000 to 80,000 odd people – how good!!

This is what we love to see from the best of our characters in this long-running game in red ball cricket through one era to another that makes his contest so special and competitive to be fair. No doubt we will get to see more and more youngsters like these being thrown into the deep end, especially at the highest of levels like Test Cricket over the next couple of years. 

For now, India are doing so well thanks to their lower-order batting saving grace while the Aussies need to think quick in a bid to bring this match home with the win. Meanwhile, yes, We got the Domestic T20 Big Bash League going through each and every night including tonight for at least the next month. But if you can’t get enough of sport, there’s always the United Cup Tennis at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney with the Aussies also in action first up in their group v Argentina.

Okay, the women’s singles tie was a bit out of reach for a start but we got Alex De Minaur though to try and turn this around against Tomas Etchverry and also our double pairs too in Matt Ebden and Ellen Perez if he wins this match. Update: De Minaur did bounce back fair and square in straight sets, just a shame our mixed doubles efforts fell short unfortunately that gave Argentina the 1st series match win 2-1 at the hands of Etchverry once again this time with Maria Loudres Carle.

Now they would need to be at their very best against Great Britain on New Year’s Day Wednesday but Monday’s result between GB and Argentina would of course depend Australia’s status in this United Cup group phase (Pool F).

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What a fantastic Day 2 we’ve just had that can change everything in a flick of a switch having saw India settled in at first after the Aussies were all out for 474 off the back of Steve Smith’s second straight 100, especially with Pat Cummins somehow found a way to break the Yashavi Jaiswal & Virat Kohli partnership and Jaiswal had to go via run out for 82. 

You just couldn’t see the shock look of Jaiswal’s face when he thought he was getting a single but Kohli said no before being given the direct hit and there goes his spell that ended so abruptly whilst trying to secure his 100 since his team’s 1st Test win in Perth.

Then the returning Scotty Boland came back to score two quick wickets to share the workload with courageous captain Cummins including Virat Kohli for 36 and nightwatchman Akash Deep as the Aussies are currently on 164-5 with a 310 run lead over India going into tomorrow. Good to see him back which was much-needed by the way while he can score a couple of runs too at the tail end (No.11), especially when he was doing up and firing two tests ago that led to the Aussies fighting back with the win in Adelaide but then the Aussies dropped him for Josh Hazelwood last week during the rain-hit Gabba and unfortunately it didn’t go well due to his calf strain and Josh is out for the series for a while anyway.

Speaking of our courageous captain, he’s the man who can not just lead with the Kookaburra ball but can also bat a bit where he reaped some handy runs despite being a run short off 50 and also a gun fielder too. I mean, what more can we say other than the fact we’re so grateful to have Pat onboard to try and win back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series off India. 

For now, there’s still unfinished business for the Aussies to get the job done ASAP first thing tomorrow morning for Day 3’s play, then we’ll see if they can stop India from avoiding the follow-on. You’ve got the quick keeper scorer Rishabh Pant out there and so does Ravi Jadeja who can score 50s every now and then with his signature sword celebration and the Aussies wouldn’t want to let it slip away.

Tough one when it’s not rainy right now unlike last week at The Gabba in Brisbane that led to a draw but maybe bowl again in order to finish the match early and go all-in ahead of the series decider for the new year’s Test next week in Sydney.

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A 19-year-old star was born in the making this morning at the MCG in Melbourne with a debut Test 50 – his name is Sam Konstas, who plays for the New South Wales state side, Sydney Thunder and St George’s Cricket Club in Hurstville.

Wow, wow, take a bow! Love the way he took out one of the best bowlers against Jasprit Bumrah (still a huge threat as India’s frontline fast bowler who picked up three wickets so far) with quickfire & explosive shots flying everywhere including runs on the board too that we always see in white-ball cricket. It’s a shame he couldn’t go at least a bit further through lunch when a simple block landed on his pad and Ravi Jadeja was right on the money unfortunately with that LBW and that was his spell for a sound 60 runs.

I’m sure his rapid rise will continue to soar as fingers crossed for Sam scoring his first Test 100 soon enough – he’s like the right-hand version of the recently retired Davey Warner to me! Although be very careful of who he bumps into next time, especially when playing against the world’s best as Sam should continue to be Sam – having been bumped into a fracas by Virat Kohli.

Other than that, it’s been a brilliant batting day while India made up some lost time towards the end of the first day today.

Thankfully, the Aussies finally won the toss after all this time also prior to the start of play this morning – as they are currently 311/6 going into Day 2 of 5 tomorrow AM.

We had a plethora of our Top 3-4 batters scoring good half-tons like other opening mainstay & Konstas’ new batting partner Usman Khawaja (57), Marnus Labuschagne (72) over at No.3, and don’t forget Steve Smith as well next up at 4 who backed up another great shift so far & is still out there on 68 alongside skipper Pat Cummins. 

Shoutout to wicket-keeper Alex Carey also following his quick score of 31 when we needed most with extra runs on the board before behind by Rishabh Pant. 

However, not so much from Travis Head unfortunately despite his concussion issues after being sent straight back upstairs (0 off 7 balls); so does Mitchell Marsh who was also sent straight back yet again for only peanuts (4 off 13). 

Maybe they could do a Nathan McSweeney (who was given the axe for Konstas) by giving Beau Webster a chance then? There’s nothing to lose if that’s what’s best for the Baggy Green where he can bowl both seam and spin & no doubt this could be their secret weapon when they usually played two spinners in the past but probably not in recent times.

What the Aussies need to do from there is score a bit more as they can with another Steve Smith masterclass 100, then bring the bowlers out to take the power games off India with the cult hero Scott Boland back in the XI by going one better in this five-test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

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Update as of Day 5: Game is drawn now thanks to yet another rain delay that left little opportunity for the Aussies to close out the match. Yes, they might have finally bowled India all out for 260 before they fell off so quickly when they’ve batted the 2nd time & declared right on the spot after the Aussies had enough; but then the rain came to say it’s too late. Hence, the series remains tied at 1-1 apiece Test with two more left to play for going into Thursday next week for the annual Boxing Day Test showdown at the MCG in Melbourne.

What does the Aussies have to do to keep themselves focused on the right track & not let India take way the series trophy that they haven’t had for a long time? 

I know Josh Hazlewood has been the glue of that “Fast Bowling Cartel” cohort over the past decade alongside Mitchell Starc & Pat Cummins but better still, should’ve kept Scott Boland and hold Hazlewood back at the next right time like the New Year’s Sydney Test instead of rushing back to like now. Unfortunately, that didn’t go well when he suffered a calf strain while warming up first thing yesterday as he won’t be back for a while – don’t know when but not for the rest of this series.

With the batting, not bad considering how good we were other than the sugar rushed Day 5 spell they had to put in ahead of the declaration. Although Travis Head wasn’t feeling good earlier today due to a tight quad issue on his thigh, let’s hope it won’t be too serious since he has been the saviour to our batting card. But not much of a chance now for Nathan McSweeney to nail down his spot as Test Opener at least for now unless he goes back to Shield level with South Australia & scores consistently big over the next 12 months if he continues to get sent back for peanuts. 

There’s a few others waiting in-line to make their first steps with the Baggy Green like the 19-year-old sensation Sam Konstas from NSW & St George (Hurstville) in Sydney Premier Cricket – we will find this out towards the end of 2024 for sure before it’s stay or go time for McSweeney who does in fact hail from Queensland. 

For now, still long way to with still lots to play for as anything can happen in this Border-Gavaskar Trophy. And shoutout to Ravi Ashwin by the way on his decorated International career following his retirement post-game as he won’t be taking any further part from now, even though there’s still a bit of play left in this series. It won’t be the same without him from someone who has been India’s primary spinner for a long time as we wish him the best of luck.

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Off the back of a successful Day 2 spell from the bat by the Aussies including Alex Carey’s stunning 70-run smash as their primary keeper (and also last man out prior to the change of innings), they weren’t bad yesterday on the field & the red kookaburra ball with early wickets when India had the chance to reply at the crease – despite elements of yesterday’s play being held up by that continuous Brisbane rainy weather at The Gabba. 

They walked into Day 4 earlier today knowing the Aussies still had a job to do which they did for the most part but not up to their full potential unfortunately, even though they’re only had one wicket to try and force India to follow on before it was too late. Not even the sad injury news by Josh Hazlewood during the warm-up session delivered a crushing blow and he won’t be back for quite a while now due to his calf strain that he pulled up there. 

Instead, we saw some amazing moments by the Men In Blue like KL Rahul’s 82, Ravi Jadeja’s 77 when he paused a bit to celebrate with the sword like he always do every time he reaches 50, and the very lower-order partnership between Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep – whom both of them scored really quickly to get past these tired bowlers over at No.‘s 10 and 11. 

The good is though that the Aussies can finish this little job for yet another try first thing tomorrow morning at Day 5. But then the race is on over the next final 6-7 hours in order to bat again for a bit if they can pile up the runs quick smart and then declare right on the spot to try and win the unlikeliest of chances of going 2-1 up in this five-test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series ahead of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG (Melbourne) next week. 

But right now amid a series of rain delays over the last few days, looks like we will see out a draw for this one – unless Australia plays it smart as said above (an outside chance) or India bowls them out quickly once again before looking to bat big & bring it home (extremely unlikely).

Better still, this is the contest and standard we love watching from both sides when it comes to the long-running Test Cricket format at the end of the day.

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We thought the Aussies were doomed right from the start this morning like it was so far in this five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series when our Top 3 batters have already been kicked out that early when we didn’t see much of Day 1 yesterday due to heavy rain. Well, fair enough to India who always keep on winning tosses; although they decided to go things so differently by bowling/fielding first rather than the bat. But hey, so we’re grateful for Travis Head who saved our day once again with another 100 off the back of his hometown heroics when he tamed the pink ball last weekend (2nd Test) at Adelaide Oval. 

Then he was joined by Steve Smith not long later having not made a big knock in a long while & he’s done just that to silence the critics who thought he is done at Test level but not just yet. Now that is courageous stuff from the Aussies as they’re currently on 405-7 with keeper Alex Carey (geez he’s been scoring oh so quick!!) currently on 45 alongside fast bowler Mitchell Starc at the tail end on seven & sure he can add the runs a bit like before.

Whatever happens towards the end of their first batting shift, let’s hope they can bowl India as early and quickly as they can in the hope of setting up a 2-1 series lead ahead of the Boxing Day test at the MCG in Melbourne come December 26.

Yes, like to give a shoutout to Jasprit Bumrah also over in the Indian dressing room with his five-wicket haul. But still, it’s been a turbulent day on the field with the seamers taking up the heavy work despite their good start. Don’t know what went wrong there when India were so good in the first test a few weeks ago at Perth and now they seem to have lost it. Not even some  selection changes have helped either as they better be ready to score at least 300-400 tomorrow once the change of innings have been made for Day 3 of 5.

For now, there’s a bit more cricket other than Tests with the T20 Big Bash League actually starting right now to kick off the new six-week season – perfect time to go out once the long school holidays are in during the summer. The opening game will be five-time champions Perth Scorchers who just welcomed the visiting Melbourne Stars side at Optus Stadium. 

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The weekend has finished early now off the back of our winning runs by the Aussie Men’s Test Team – things we love to see!!

There has been a whole more South Australian brilliance in front of Adelaide Oval including our brilliant finish to this 3rd innings shift on the field/ from Captain Pat Cummins whose short ball bowling approach paid off right on time that helped set up an amazing 19-run finish & here they are celebrating just inside those three days following their ten wicket win. 

We just couldn’t get enough of Travis Head as said above who not just scored a Test 100 with Alex Carey by his side but also caught a few courageous catches too while we could’ve seen a possible Test 50 from one of SA’s openers Nathan McSweeney but at least he scored some valiant runs including this afternoon’s easy run chase with still a long way to go.

For India, it seems their selection purely to dominate these conditions with the pink ball didn’t pay off unfortunately. Yes, we saw some brilliant flashes of brilliance like Jasprit Bumrah leading the way with the ball as well as some outrageous batting shot selections that led to some quickfire runs by Rishabh Pant & that quick all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy who top scored 40 in both spells. But again, their poor start coupled with that top-order collapse once again (2nd innings) allowed Australia to fight one back – and the rest is history especially in Adelaide.

Now that the Aussies are back in this fight for the ultimate five-match heavyweight series belt (Border-Gavaskar Trophy), will they keep the same fast bowling squad that made them click in this Test? Hard to tell when you got Josh Hazlewood knocking on our doors again – despite Scott Boland doing extremely well in his place & so does Mitchell Starc even though he made some mistakes with the no balls but can also score some runs.

Plus, what about the batting? Not bad apart from Steve Smith’s continued poor form for yet another straight time at 4 including his fielding work, although Marnus Labuschagne is was at his best again was the other day for 64 at first drop. But I guess the Aussies would want to keep our whole winning XI near changed/unchanged ahead of the 3rd Test starting next Saturday as both teams now head off to The Gabba in Brisbane.

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