IND vs AUS 3rd ODI Live: Mohammed Siraj Strikes Early, Removes Travis Head as India Seek Comeback in Sydney

Winning the toss, the Australia captain Marsh chose to bat first in the third and final ODI on Saturday at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The visitors, with the 0–2 margin against them after losses in Perth and Adelaide, were desperate to avoid being whitewashed.

In the playing eleven, Australia made one change, bringing in Nathan Ellis for Xavier Bartlett, while Shubman Gill forced changes of Kuldeep Yadav and Prasidh Krishna in place of Arshdeep Singh and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Reddy missed the match due to a left quadriceps injury he sustained in the second ODI: “Nitish Kumar Reddy sustained a left quadriceps injury during the Adelaide match and was unavailable for selection. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring him daily,” according to the statement from the team management.

At the toss, Marsh said,

“We are batting first. It is a good wicket, with a bit of sun over SCG. The youngsters have stepped up well. Today is a lovely day for a 3-0 series-win. Cooper is a composed guy and played amazingly good in the last game. Nathan Ellis comes in for Xavier Bartlett.”

Gill, meanwhile, said that India would have preferred to bowl first.

“We would have bowled first, tried to chase down target. We had chances in the last game but could not capitalize on them. Hopefully today will go our way. Kuldeep and Prasidh come in for Arshdeep and Reddy.”

Live Match Updates (10:00 AM IST)

💥 WICKET!

Mohammed Siraj gave India the break-through they dearly wanted, dismissing Travis Head for 36. Head went for a slash shot against a short ball, only for Prasidh Krishna to catch it superbly at backward point dismissing him at an imposing moment.

Australia: 61 runs for 1 wicket in 9.2 overs

📊 Stat attack: This is the eighth dismissal of Travis Head by Siraj in 19 innings across all international formats.

09:58 AM IST - Kuldeep in Action:

On Shubman Gill’s demand, Kuldeep Yadav was brought after the conclusion of the first powerplay. The wrist-spinner bowled a neat over for just 4 runs.

09:49 AM IST - Costly start for Prasidh:

Opening bowling! Prasidh Krishna went for 13 in his first over as the pair went after the bowling. Australia: 44/0 in 7 overs

09:36 AM IST - Head hits milestone:

Travis Head became the fastest Australian to reach 3,000 ODI runs in 76 innings, surpassing Steven Smith and David Warner.

09:30 AM IST - Marsh in control:

The Australian captain maintained his threat to India, launching Harshit Rana into the stands for a huge six, followed by a host of boundaries.

Playing XIs

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

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