Team India captain Rohit Sharma won the all-important toss and elected to bat first in the 3rd Test in Indore on March 01 (Wednesday). The hosts made two changes to their playing XI that featured in the 2nd Test. Out-of-form KL Rahul was dropped while Mohammed Shami was rested. Shubman Gill and Umesh Yadav were included in India's playing XI. Australia also made two changes with Pat Cummins and David Warner making way for Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green.
India playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat(w), Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
Australia playing XI: Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith(c), Peter Handscomb, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Matthew Kuhnemann
India have already secured the Border-Gavaskar trophy and they will now be playing for a record-extending 16th straight series win at home and a guaranteed spot in the World Test Championship final in June. Leading 2-0 in a four-match series, India are sitting pretty and two wins away from inflicting a humiliating whitewash on Australia.
The Baggy Greens under Steve Smith are seeking redemption after being completely outplayed in the opening two Tests of the series. The onus is on the Australian batters to put up a solid resistance against Indian spinners, who have completely dominated the proceedings so far. With seasoned stars Pat Cummins, David Warner and Josh Hazlewood out, the visitors find themselves in a massive hole.
Squad:
Australia: Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (captain), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.
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