RANCHI: Australia captain Steve Smith won the toss and elected to bat against India in the third Test in Ranchi on Thursday.
The tourists were forced to make two changes to their line-up after injuries to pace spearhead Mitchell Starc and allrounder Mitchell Marsh.
Fast bowler Pat Cummins, who played his only Test in 2011 against South Africa, and allrounder Glenn Maxwell were named in the Australian team.
“I don’t think there will be much bounce, and it will turn as the game progresses,” Smith said about the Ranchi pitch — India’s newest Test venue — at the toss.
The hosts, who levelled the four-match series at 1-1 in Bangalore, have brought back fit-again opener Murali Vijay in place of Abhinav Mukund.
The aftermath of the Bangalore match was dominated by a row over Australia’s use of the Decision Review System (DRS) but Kohli said his focus was now on the cricket.
“It’s a fresh start. We are taking it as a two-match series,” said Kohli whose team must avoid defeat to have any chance of winning back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Teams
India: Lokesh Rahul, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav.
Australia: David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Steve Smith (capt), Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Steve O’Keefe, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL) and Ian Gould (ENG)
TV umpire: Nigel Llong (ENG)
Match referee: Richie Richardson (WIS)
