Test match India

13th over: Australia 29-2 (Smith 6, Labuschagne 14) Siraj gets a spell and Shami returns. Australians will recall the veteran India quick from the 2015 ...

“Sky” has become a people’s hero with his six-hitting in the white ball formats and after 79 first-class matches he will finally gets to pull on the Test shirt for India at the ripe old age of 32. That was a big toss to win and Pat Cummins’ run of luck with the coin has continued. There was much talk in the lead up to this series about Head’s disappointing record on the subcontinent and his plan to combat it with the all-out aggression so successful in the home summer. 3rd over: Australia 6-2 (Smith 0, Labuschagne 0) Even two wickets down after three overs, the names Smith and Labuschagne inspire confidence. His first ball of the series is wide and skids low. He pulls his head in on the last and lets it drop at his feet. He wants more of a look at the leftie and a single is sufficient from this 10th over. However Smith swipes at the fifth ball and pulls it just short of a fielder. 15th over: Australia 33-2 (Smith 6, Labuschagne 19) Shami returns and so does the Australian stalemate. 18th over: Australia 44-2 (Smith 10, Labuschagne 24) Here comes Patel, a slower action to Jadeja but all the venom comes from that final flick of the wrists. 11th over: Australia 27-2 (Smith 6, Labuschagne 14) Siraj steams in for a fifth over, this one to Labuschagne who has now faced twice as many balls as Smith. Australia have broken the deadlock now and the pace is quickening.

Smith 77% after 30 balls. I'm getting the feeling that's because Smith is actively trying to attack the spinners more than Labuschagne is. And at one of those ...

Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das are the only other pair to account for more than 10% of their team’s runs. No other pair has proved as prolific for their team in Tests in recent times than this one. All through this partnership, Smith and Labuschagne have been spectacularly decisive.

The first India vs Australia Test in the next highly anticipated edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will start today in Nagpur. Get live cricket score ...

Australia 2/1 in 1.1 overs Australia 14/2 in 3.4 overs Mohammed Siraj gave India a perfect start in the series by removing Australia opener Usman Khawaja early in the innings. Marnus Labuschagne hits another four in the over off Mohammed Siraj Siraj, bowling his first over of the match, bowled an outswinger to Australia opener Usman Khawaja and hit his pad straightaway with his first delivery of the match. After a maiden over from Mohammed Siraj, Axar came back to bowl another tidy one -- just a single off it. Marnus Labuschagne (15*) and Steven Smith (6*) are in the repairing mode after two early blows and so far added 27 runs for the third wicket. Marnus Labuschagne (28* off 72) looked in good touch today and is targeting Axar Patel to score the odd boundaries for Australia. The pacers Mohammed Siraj (1/13) and Mohammed Shami (1/12) with the wickets for the hosts. Runs are tough to come by for the Aussies, but they are keeping wickets intact for the time being. The Aussie batters Marnus Labuschagne (32*) and Steve Smith (15*) have so far added 55 runs for the third wicket to steady the innings. The Aussie took a review but the decision went in the favour of the hosts.