Key events
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the first day of the first Test between Australia and India. The first five-Test series between the pair of powerhouses since 1991-92 has all the hallmarks of being a rip snorter with established stars and emerging talents on both sides set to lock horns as the tourists seek to maintain their firm grip on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
While India have won the past four series – twice in Australia and as many times on home soil – they arrive this time under even more pressure than usual after a shock series defeat to New Zealand and with several players from their first-choice XI missing this opening Test in Perth. Australia’s lineup is more familiar but a debutant at the top of the order in Nathan McSweeney is sure to get the heart racing on the bouncy deck at Optus Stadium.
First ball will be at 10:20am local time / 1:20pm AEDT. I’ll be seeing us through to the toss an hour before that, when Geoff Lemon will take the reins. The forecast in Perth is a bit cooler than usual for this time of year with a maximum of 23 while there is a bit of cloud and light wind around, making the toss a curious call for Pat Cummins and Jasprit Bumrah.
Get in touch with any comments, questions, thoughts and predictions – you can shoot me an email or find me @martinpegan on Bluesky or X. Let’s get into it!
