History in sight as Australia bat first at SCG

Scott Bailey |

Nathan Ellis returns to Australia’s team for the third and final ODI against India at the SCG.
Nathan Ellis returns to Australia’s team for the third and final ODI against India at the SCG.

Australia will bat first at a sold-out SCG, as the hosts hunt a historic maiden clean sweep of their one-day series against India.

Captain Mitch Marsh confirmed Nathan Ellis would come into Australia’s side for the final game of the three-match series, with Xavier Bartlett dropping out.

India have brought in spinner Kuldeep Yadav, with quick Prasidh Krishna also added at the expense of Arshdeep Singh and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Kohli
Indian great Virat Kohli will be hoping to break his duck in his last match in Australia. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)

Saturday’s match marks Virat Kohli’s last international in Australia, with India’s megastar desperate for runs after back-to-back ducks to start the series.

Former captain Rohit Sharma will also play his final match in the country, given he too has retired from all other formats.

India’s toss loss marks the 18th time in a row the coin has landed the wrong way for the tourists, dating back to the 2023 ODI World Cup.

Winners in the wet in Perth and two-wicket victors in Adelaide, Australia are eyeing off a first series sweep either team has produced in a bilateral ODI series against each other. 

AUSTRALIA: Mitch Marsh (capt), Travis Head, Matt Short, Matthew Renshaw, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.

INDIA: Shubman Gill (capt), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj.

AAP