Opener David Warner did not have a great return to the Australian team as he got out early in the first session on the first day of the third Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.
The left-handed batsman, who making his comeback after missing the first two Tests and the ODI series due to a groin injury from the T20I series, was caught in slips by Cheteshwar Pujara off Mohammed Siraj’s delivery.
Australia were restricted 21/1 at the end of the first session on a rain-hit day. Debutant Will Pucovski was on 14 and Marnus Labuschagne on two.
Australia had won the toss and elected to bat.
Meanwhile, Australia captain Tim Paine on Wednesday confirmed that opener David Warner would play the third Test against India.
“Obviously with David (Warner) playing and potentially more, there are some conversations that need to be had first. Davey’s been awesome, he brings really high intensity and fills guys around him with confidence,” Paine told the media on Wednesday morning.
“If he gets in and gets away, he puts the pressure back on the opposition better than most particularly the opening batsmen. Regardless who we are playing against, we are a better team by a margin when David Warner is in it by the runs he scores. He protects our middle-order. We have Marnus (Labuschagne), Steve (Smith) coming in when the bowlers are a bit tired then obviously it is a huge advantage for us. David has got a huge role for us and he has played well throughout career,” he added.
For India, Rohit Sharma replaced Mayank Agarwal while Navdeep Saini makes his Test debut, replacing the injured Umesh Yadav.
Rohit is playing his first Test in over a year.
For Australia, David Warner and debutant Will Pucovski have replaced Joe Burns and Travis Head.
The series is level at 1-1 after two Tests.
Playing XIs
Australia: David Warner, Will Pucovski, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matthew Wade, Cameron Green, Tim Paine (wicketkeeper/captain), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini.