BGT 2024-25: [Watch] Shubman Gill gets sledged by Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, then throws his wicket to Lyon in SCG test

Shubman Gill replaced Rohit Sharma in the SCG test.

The highly-anticipated New Year’s test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 started on Friday, January 3 in Sydney.

Both teams made changes to their playing XI. Rohit Sharma has “opted to rest,” allowing Shubman Gill to come in, while the injured Akash Deep was replaced by Prasidh Krishna. On the other hand, Australia dropped the out-of-form Mitchell Marsh for Tasmanian all-rounder Beau Webster.

Indian captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and chose to bat first. India had a shaky start, losing both openers with just 17 runs on the board. Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill then displayed discipline before the later lost his patience to gift the wicket to Nathan Lyon.

In the last over before the lunch break, Gill played five balls before taking his time with to play the final delivery to ensure the Australians wouldn’t get another over before the interval.

Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, positioned at slip and forward short leg, exchanged words with the Indian batter. Smith said, “This is bull****,” to which Labuschagne added, “Oi, let’s play.” Gill responded calmly, “You take your time, Smithy. Nobody says anything to you.“

The Indian batter, distracted by the sledging, then stepped out of his crease on the last ball and edged it behind, giving a straightforward catch to Smith.

Watch: Shubman Gill throws his wicket to Lyon in SCG test after being sledged by Smith and Labuschagne

At Tea, India have recovered to 107/4, with Rishabh Pant (32*) and Ravindra Jadeja (11*) at the crease. The team will aim to post a total above 250 and rely on the pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna to make an impact on the green Sydney wicket.

India and Australia playing XIs for Sydney test:

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland.

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