All you need to know for the New Year's Test

Match details

Who: Australia v India

What: Fifth NRMA Insurance Test Match

When: 3-7 January, 2025, first ball at 10.30am AEDT, 5am IST

Where: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales

How to watch: Fox Cricket, Kayo Sports, Channel 7 and 7Plus

Live scores: Match Centre

Live blog: Follow the action live here

Officials: Michael Gough and Sharfuddoula Saikat (field), Joel Wilson (third), Samuel Nogajski (fourth), Andy Pycroft (referee)

Highlights, news and reactions after the match: cricket.com.au, the CA Live app and the Unplayable Podcast. Listen and subscribe to the podcast below.

The Squads

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (vc), Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

 

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal

Australia debuted 19-year-old Sam Konstas in Melbourne and the opening bat plundered a spectacular 60 from 65 balls on the first morning of the match. Our youngest-ever Test opener will now get a cap on home soil, while Josh Inglis drops out of the Australian squad after suffering a calf strain while sub-fielding on day two of the Boxing Day Test. For India, the pressure is right on India captain Rohit Sharma, who is yet to pass 10 from five innings in the series.

Local knowledge

The New Year's Test in Sydney is always a special event, highlighted by Jane McGrath Day on day three, when the venue is a sea of pink and millions of dollars are typical raised for breast cancer support and awareness in Australia. 

The last time India played at the SCG, it was a case of what might have been for the Australians, who rued several missed opportunities on the final day in a match that finished drawn. A win for Australia would have given them a 2-1 lead; instead the two sides went to Brisbane and India secured a miraculous victory and with it, the series.

For the hosts, superstar Steve Smith needs just 38 runs to reach 10,000 in Test cricket, which would make him just the fourth Australian to do so after Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

Among the Indians, the under-fire Rishabh Pant has enjoyed playing in Sydney, scoring 159no, 36 and 97 in two Tests at the famed venue.

Session Times

First Session: 10:30am – 12:30pm AEDT (5am – 7am IST)

 

Second Session: 1:10pm – 3:10pm AEDT (7:40am – 9:40am IST

 

Third Session: 3:30pm – 5:30pm AEDT (10am – 12pm IST)

 

* An extra 30 minutes can be used to complete daily overs

The full series schedule

First Test: India won by 295 runs

Second Test: Australia won by 10 wickets

Third Test: Match drawn

Fourth Test: Australia won by 184 runs

Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT

nbn Fast Facts

Great things happen fast on nbn – cricket.com.au has compiled the following facts to prepare you for the game, fast. Do great things with nbn.

• Australia lead 2-1 in this men’s Test series against India going into this final match; they are aiming for their first series victory against India in the format since a 2-0 win in January 2015.
• Australia have lost only one of all their 13 men's Tests against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground (W5 D7) – they lost by an innings and two runs in January 1978; they are undefeated in their 10 meetings in the format at the venue since then (W4 D6).
• India have won only one of their last seven men's Tests (D1 L5) – a 295-run victory against Australia in the first match of this series (November 2024); they are winless in their three games since then (D1 L2), the last time they recorded a longer winless run in the format was a nine-match span from July 2014 to August 2015 (D3 L6).
• Australia have lost only one of their last 23 men's Tests at the Sydney Cricket Ground (W15 D7) – an innings and 83-run loss against England in January 2011; they are undefeated in their 13 matches since then (W7 D6), their second longest unbeaten run at the venue (15 - W7 D8 from January 1980 to January 1993).
• Jasprit Bumrah (India) has a Test bowling strike-rate of 40.2 in Australia, the best of any player from outside Australia (min. 11 innings) in the history of the format and the third best (min 11 inns) overall (Scott Boland – 33.8 from 16 inn for Aus, and James Pattinson – 40.1 from 20 inns for Aus).
• Steven Smith (9,962) is 38 away from becoming the fourth player to score 10,000 runs for Australia in men’s Tests; he's scored 70+ runs in each of his four Test innings against India at the venue (117, 71, 131, 81).
• The five players with the best batting false shot rates in this men’s Test series between Australia and India are all India players (Shubman Gill – 19 per cent from 84 balls faced, Washington Sundar – 19.3 per cent from 316 balls faced, Ravindra Jadeja – 20.7 per cent from 188 balls faced, Nitish Kumar Reddy – 21 per cent from 442 balls faced and Rishabh Pant – 22.3 per cent from 301 balls faced).
• Alex Carey (Australia) took 42 catches in men's Tests in 2024, the most of any player last year and 10 more than the next best; his 96 per cent catch success rate (42/44) was the best of any player to make at least nine catches in the format last year.

Head-to-Head

Overall: Australia 47 wins, India 33 wins, 30 draws, one tie

In Australia: Australia 32 wins, India 10 wins, 14 draws

Past 10 years: Australia nine wins (6H, 2A, 1N) India nine wins (4H, 5A), seven draws (5 in Aus, 2 in India)

Most runs (overall): Sachin Tendulkar (3630), Ricky Ponting (2555), VVS Laxman (2434), Steve Smith (2319), Virat Kohli (2209)

Most runs (in Australia): Ricky Ponting (1893), Sachin Tendulkar (1809), Virat Kohli (1519), Steve Smith (1359), VVS Laxman (1236)

Most wickets (overall): Nathan Lyon (129), Ravichandran Ashwin (115), Anil Kumble (111), Harbhajan Singh (95), Ravindra Jadeja (93)

Most wickets (in Australia): Nathan Lyon (68), Jasprit Bumrah (62), Pat Cummins (55), Kapil Dev (51), Mitch Starc (50), Anil Kumble (49)

Possible line-ups

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

Mitchell Marsh's lack of runs in the series – 73 from seven innings – has seen the reigning Allan Border Medallist make way for uncapped allrounder Beau Webster, with captain Pat Cummins saying it's time for a "freshen up" as he confirmed the change on the eve of the final Test. Frontline quick Mitchell Starc, meanwhile, has overcome a side strain he was battling during the Boxing Day Test in time to cement his spot for Sydney after going through scans on his ribs on Wednesday.

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

India's team balance has shifted throughout this series so don't rule out more reshuffling in the wake of the Boxing Day Test defeat. Head coach Gautam Gambhir refused to confirm on Thursday if captain Rohit Sharma will hold on to his place in the side amid a lean run of form and reports of unrest in the dressing room. Rohit's return to the top of the order in Melbourne had come at the expense of Shubman Gill, who looked the part in Adelaide for his 31 and 28 before missing out in Brisbane. The classy 25-year-old made 50 and 31 last time around in Sydney and could come back in the side for Rohit, if the Indian selection table makes the huge call. Seamer Akash Deep will miss the final Test with a back issue which could make way for Harshit Rana's return after his wicketless outing in Adelaide, or India could call in Prasidh Krishna for his first game of the series.

Can I still get tickets?

General admission availability for the New Year's Test is always in hot demand and it is now confirmed that all public tickets are sold out for the first three days! Click here to see what you can snap up. 

Broadcast info

Australian audiences will once again be able to watch every ball of this summer's Test series either free-to-air on Channel Seven and its digital streaming platform 7plus, or ad-break free during play and in 4K on Foxtel and Kayo Sports.

Here’s the commentators you can expect to hear across the different broadcasters during the Test series:

Seven & 7plus: Greg Blewett, James Brayshaw, Trent Copeland, Aaron Finch (first two Tests only), Damien Fleming, Sunil Gavaskar, Simon Katich, Rachel Khawaja, Tim Lane, Justin Langer, Mel McLaughlin, Alison Mitchell, Alister Nicholson, Ricky Ponting and Simon Taufel.

Foxtel & Kayo: Harsha Bhogle, Allan Border, Adam Gilchrist, Isa Guha, Mark Howard, Mike Hussey, Brendon Julian, Brett Lee, Kath Loughnan, Kerry O'Keefe, Ravi Shastri, Michael Vaughan, David Warner, Mark Waugh

Kayo Sports and 7plus will both feature options to listen to Hindi commentary for this summer's Tests. Foxtel has introduced new technological innovations such as interactive 4D replays, a 600 frame-per-second ultra-slow-motion camera dubbed 'the emperor', and using AI to enhance ball-tracking data.

If you’re not already on board with Kayo Sports, sign up here

If radio is more your thing, then the ABC, Triple M and SEN will all be broadcasting the Test matches this summer, all of which can be listened to through the CA Live app. The BBC and SEN NZ will also be carrying audio for listeners in those countries.

World Test Championship update

With South Africa having secured a spot in the WTC Final, to be held at Lord's in June this year, only one spot remains up for grabs.

If Australia win in Sydney, that'll be enough to see them progress before they head to Sri Lanka for a two-Test series starting in late January. India though, must win and hope Australia fail to win either Test in Sri Lanka.

Form Guide

Past 10 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, D: draw   

Australia: WDWLWWLWWW

Australia have seven wins from their past 10 Tests and will enter the New Year's clash on a high after their gripping win in Melbourne.

India: LDLWLLLWWW

India started the series perfectly with a comfortable win inside four days in Perth but things have not gone to plan since, and it will take a courageous turnaround in Sydney to level the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.