AUS vs IND 5th BGT Test: Will rain stop play on day one at SCG in Sydney?

The fifth Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series between Australia and India is set to begin on Friday, January 3, at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), where these two teams were part of an epic draw nearly four years ago. With the series in favour of Australia at 2-1 after their comprehensive win in Melbourne, the Indian cricket team needs to win the Pink Test in Sydney, to not only level the series 2-2, but also retain the prestigious BGT.

Australia delivered an exceptional all-round performance in Melbourne last month with the captain Pat Cummins receiving the player of the match award for his contribution with the bat, ball, and in the field. Steve Smith scored back-to-back hundreds at the Test level for quite a long time, to set up the MCG Test win for Australia, which was achieved on the last hour of the fifth and final day after the Indian cricket team got bowled out in their bid to draw the match.

Following a dismal performance from Rohit Sharma with the bat in Tests in recent months, which has also led to the Indian cricket team not winning any of the last six matches in his captaincy tenure, head coach Gautam Gambhir told the press that the his involvement in the playing XI for the Sydney Test is yet to be decided. In the absence of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah is likely to captain India at the SCG, and under his leadership, the team had already defeated Australia in Perth nearly two months ago.

Talking about the weather for day one of the third Test at the SCG in Sydney, it is expected to stay pleasant with sun and area of clouds throughout the day, according to the listings on AccuWeather. The probability of precipitation on Friday, January 3, stands at 6% and the probability of thunderstorms stands at 0% during the day time hours, with 0.0 millimetres of rain in and around the venue. During the first day’s play in Sydney, there will be wind gusts of around 33 km/h during the day, which could help in blowing away any resemblance of drizzle from the venue. With that, the fans can expect a full day’s of cricket between Australia and India take on each other at the SCG on Friday, and it could be quite an entertaining spectacle, especially with the visitors needing to force a win to level the series.