The Australian head coach Justin Langer announced that the hosts will be fielding the same playing during Boxing Day on Saturday. Australian bowlers were too hot to handle for the visitors on day three of the pink-ball Test. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood managed to scalp as many as nine wickets between themselves in the second innings as India were restricted to 36/9 in their second essay.
During a virtual press-conference on Thursday, Justin Langer said, “I’ll be a pretty courageous man to change the playing XI this Test match after the last one. Unless something happens over the next few days and that can in the world we live but we are going with the same XI.”
Cricket Australia has confirmed that the crowd capacity for the Boxing Day Test between India and Australia has been increased to 30,000 per day. Earlier, they had restricted it to 25,000 fans for each day inside the MCG for the Boxing Day Test, but Cricket Australia has confirmed the increased capacity.
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Langer expressed his happiness over the staging of the Boxing Day Test in such tough times of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Australian coach said, “Thirty thousand (crowd) is better than none. And it wasn’t that long ago, probably a few weeks ago that we wonder if we had a Boxing Day Test match in Melbourne. Every time I come here I pinch myself, playing at the MCG I’ve come here a lot. It’s just an amazing stadium, the hype about it and boys love playing here.”
He further added, “The Indians will love, probably lot would have dreamt of playing here a Test match and thirty thousand is better than none and it certainly provides the atmosphere.”
Also, the Player of the Match of the second Test between Australia and India will be awarded the Mullagh Medal, named after the legendary Johnny Mullagh. Meanwhile, David Warner and Sean Abbott have been ruled out of the second Test against India.
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Australia’s playing XI: Joe Burns, Matthew Wade, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Tim Paine (c, wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
