Gill, Prasidh in as Rohit Sharma-less India opt to bat at SCG

India captain Jasprit Bumrah has won the toss and elected to bat first under overcast conditions in the fifth and final Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The pacer also confirmed that Shubman Gill comes in for Rohit Sharma, who has opted to rest for the game, and with Akash Deep injured, Prasidh Krishna will play his first Test of the series.

Gill was in the XI for the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests, managing just 60 runs in his three innings. He will slot in at three today, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul set to open - as they did in Perth and Adelaide.

Gill had missed the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne as India decided to strengthen their bowling department. Prasidh, on the other hand, has played two Tests, both coming against South Africa on their 2023-24 tour. 

As far as Australia are concerned, they have made just one change, with Beau Webster coming in for the under-performing Mitchell Marsh.

Australia lead the five-match series 2-1, following wins in Adelaide and Melbourne. However, it was India, incidentally led by Bumrah, who won the first Test of the series in Perth.

Pitch Report by Sunil Gavaskar

"There is a lot of grass on the pitch. The sun is not out, and it is very overcast. The new ball will not be easy for the batters. Konstas batted well at the MCG. Batting with the new ball won't be easy."

What did the captains say?

Jasprit Bumrah (India): "We've played some really good cricket in this series. The last match was pretty exciting. Hopefully, we can put up a good show. It seems to be some grass. It doesn't look to have too many demons or look too spicy. Obviously, there will be a challenge with the new ball, but if you get through, it's always a good batting track. 

"Our captain has shown leadership by opting to rest in this game. That shows there's a lot of unity in this team. There's no selfishness. Whatever is in the team's best interest, we are looking to do that."

Pat Cummins (Australia): "We were going to bat as well. But overcast conditions, so hopefully, we can get the ball to swing around a bit. All the boys have pulled up well after a short turnaround."

Playing XIs

Australia: Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

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