Australia v India: fourth men?s cricket Test, day one ? live
now 00.28 CET Anthems go around the ground. We?re not full yet, but well on the way to full. Mitch Starc has had a haircut. Boland has too. Marsh and Konstas have not, by the looks. The Torres Strait and Aboriginal flags fly on poles between the larger Australian and Indian national flags, which are held flat like bedsheets ready to be folded. Done, away we go. Share
2m ago 00.26 CET Teams And a big piece of news about India?s XI. I wasn?t expecting this. Gill is out so they can play two spinners, with Jadeja at six. Rohit goes up to three. Australia
Usman Khawaja
Sam Konstas
Marnus Labuschagne
Steve Smith
Travis Head
Mitch Marsh
Alex Carey
Pat Cummins
Mitchell Starc
Nathan Lyon
Scott Boland India
Yashasvi Jaiswal
KL Rahul
Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli
Rishabh Pant
Ravindra Jadeja
Nitish Kumar Reddy
Washington Sundar
Jasprit Bumrah
Mohammed Siraj
Akash Deep Share
6m ago 00.22 CET Weather report from the ground: it is already hot out there, but it?s currently cloudy. So that?s some measure of relief at least. I suspect it will burn away soon, although there?s also a chance of rain in the forecast and a cool change later. The whole Melbourne grab-bag. I?ll tell you what is certain: Indian support. My word, the crowd outside is at least half wearing blue India shirts. Huge lines on the way in. Share
26m ago 00.02 CET Australia win the toss and will bat Huge toss to win! No surprises there, with the heat and the gusty winds blowing across Melbourne. Share
32m ago 23.56 CET Drop us a post-Christmas cheerio Tell us about your day, whether you?re at the end of it on one half of the planet, or it is already yesterday on the other. Who ate what? Who annoyed who? Who is filled with seasonal cheer? Get salty, get schmaltzy, get smoochy ? whatever you like. The email line is open. Share
42m ago 23.46 CET The biggest news for Australia is the debut of young sensation Sam Konstas to open the batting. Huge challenge for him, especially if he?s called upon immediately. Although that would give him less time to get nervous, I suppose. He seems pretty confident, but walking out in front of 90,000 would have to challenge any teenage bravado. Scott Boland is coming back for Australia replacing the injured Josh Hazlewood. Not sure what India will do yet, they always play their cards close and always seem to make a change somewhere along the line. View image in fullscreen Local hero fast bowler Scott Boland has a key role to play in Australia?s attack for the Boxing Day Test. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP Share
