“I just want to contribute to the team’s cause, I am not a guy who wants to hang around just for the sake of it,” Kohli told the broadcasters after hitting his record 30th Test hundred. This was not just any regular hundred, but a stern reply to all the critics who doubted someone who has owned Australia for more than a decade. He managed to repay the faith showcased in him by Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir with a record 30th Test ton on Day 3 of the 1st Test between India and Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

In the pre-departure press conference, Gambhir said that there were no concerns about Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s form in the lead-up to the Australia series. Gambhir took the bullet for Kohli as he slammed former Australia captain Ricky Ponting for his remarks over the star batter’s recent dip in form. Ponting recently commented on Kohli’s form, saying that any other player wouldn’t have survived in the team had he scored just two hundreds in five years.

Ponting vs Gambhir

The India head coach said that Ponting has got nothing to do with Indian cricket and mentioned Kohli and Rohit’s passion and hunger to do well for the team.

“What does Ponting has to do with Indian cricket? I think he should think about Australian cricket and, more importantly, have got no concerns whatsoever for Virat and Rohit. I think they are incredibly tough men. They’ve achieved a lot for Indian cricket, and they will continue to achieve a lot in the future as well. I think for me, the most important thing is that they still work really hard, and they are still passionate, they still want to achieve a lot more and that is something which is very important. The hunger in that dressing room is incredibly important for me. And for the entire group of people as well, in that dressing in dressing room. And I feel there is a lot of hunger, and especially after what has happened in the last series,” Gambhir said in the press conference.

The war of words between Gautam Gambhir and Ricky Ponting continues with the Australia great saying that the India coach is frightened ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

However, Kohli shut down all the critics with a whirlwind hundred, which was his 7th Test hundred on the Australian soil.

Jasprit Bumrah rocked Australia in their own backyard on Friday, producing a fiery opening spell to bring India back after the visitors’ batting failed on the opening day of the first Test in Perth.
Captaining the team in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who is on paternity leave, Bumrah led from the front to rip apart the home team’s top order with a three-wicket burst, which included two wickets off two balls. However, he missed out on a hat-trick.
India, who were bowled out for just 150 on the first morning, needed inspiration to throw a few punches back at the Aussies; and it came from the skipper himself, who once again delivered when the team needed it the most.
Bumrah made the first breakthrough in the third over of the innings, when he struck debutant Nathan McSweeney on the pads, but the umpire shook his head to deny the appeal. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant wasn’t too sure, but Bumrah said “close hai” and went ahead to signal for a review.
It went in India’s favour, and McSweeney walked back after scoring 10.

Bumrah would have struck again in the same over, but a regulation slip catch off an edge from Marnus Labuschagne’s bat was dropped by Virat Kohli.

In the seventh over of Australia’s innings, the Indian skipper continued to rattle the hosts and jolted them with two wickets in two balls to be on a hat-trick.
Kohli made amends in the slips by safely pouching an edge from left-hander Usman Khawaja’s (8) bat to contribute in Bumrah’s second wicket. And Bumrah struck on the next ball as well to snare the big fish Steve Smith for a first-ball duck with an unplayable full, in-swinging delivery that hit his pad well inside the crease and right in front of the stumps.
The hat-trick ball to Travis Head shaped towards the leg-side as the left-hander tried to flick it but missed. Australia’s score at that stage read 19 for 3.

Debutant pacer Harshit Rana then struck the fourth blow when he cleaned up India’s nemesis of late, Head (11), with a dream delivery that moved away just enough after pitching to beat the bat and peg the off-stump back.

At the time this report was published, Australia were 38 for 4 in 16 overs, with Labuschagne batting on 1 and Mitchell Marsh on 6.

Rohit Sharma Wont Travel to Australia: भारतीय टीम को ऑस्ट्रेलिया के खिलाफ उसी के घर में 5 मैचों की टेस्ट सीरीज खेलनी है. टेस्ट सीरीज का पहला मुकाबला 22 नवंबर से पर्थ में खेला जाना है. मगर इससे पहले भारतीय टीम के लिए एक तगड़ा झटका देने वाली खबर सामने आ रही है. भारतीय कप्तान रोहित शर्मा ऑस्ट्रेलिया दौरे के लिए टीम के साथ रवाना नहीं हो रहे हैं. 

ऐसे में स्पष्ट है कि रोहित शर्मा सीरीज का पहला टेस्ट मैच नहीं खेलेंगे. उनकी जगह उपकप्तान जसप्रीत बुमराह को कमान संभालनी पड़ सकती है. बता दें कि कप्तान रोहित दूसरी बार पिता बनने वाले हैं. माना जा रहा है कि अगले कुछ दिन में रोहित की पत्नी रितिका सजदेह बच्चे को जन्म दे सकती हैं. ऐसे में रोहित उनके पास रहेंगे.

प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस में नहीं रहेंगे कप्तान रोहित

हाल ही में खबर आई थी कि रोहित पहले बैच में भारतीय टीम के साथ ऑस्ट्रेलिया जा सकते हैं. साथ ही वो जरूरत पड़ने पर पहले और दूसरे टेस्ट के बीच में वापस आ सकते हैं. लेकिन अब यह सभी संभावनाएं समाप्त हो गई हैं.

दरअसल, ऑस्ट्रेलिया दौरे के लिए भारतीय टीम दो बैच में 11 और 12 नवंबर को रवाना होगी. इससे पहले टीम इंडिया के मुख्य कोच गौतम गंभीर मुंबई में 11 नवंबर को सुबह 9 बजे प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस करेंगे. अगर रोहित शर्मा इस बैच के साथ जा रहे होते तब वे भी मीडिया से बातचीत का हिस्सा बनते. भारतीय टीम ऑस्ट्रेलिया के लिए रवाना हो गई है. इसमें रोहित शामिल नहीं हैं. इसका वीडियो भी सामने आया है.

पहले टेस्ट के लिए ऑस्ट्रेलियाई टीम: पैट कमिंस (कप्तान), स्कॉट बोलैंड, एलेक्स कैरी, जोश हेजलवुड, ट्रेविस हेड, जोश इंग्लिस, उस्मान ख्वाजा, मार्नस लाबुशेन, नाथन लायन, मिचेल मार्श, नाथन मैकस्वीनी, स्टीव स्मिथ, मिचेल स्टार्क.

टेस्ट सीरीज के लिए भारतीय टीम: रोहित शर्मा (कप्तान), जसप्रीत बुमराह (उप-कप्तान), यशस्वी जायसवाल, अभिमन्यु ईश्वरन, शुभमन गिल, विराट कोहली, केएल राहुल, ऋषभ पंत (विकेटकीपर), सरफराज खान, ध्रुव जुरेल (विकेटकीपर), आर अश्विन, रवींद्र जडेजा, मोहम्मद सिराज, आकाश दीप, प्रसिद्ध कृष्णा, हर्षित राणा, नीतीश कुमार रेड्डी, वॉशिंगटन सुंदर.

रिजर्व: मुकेश कुमार, नवदीप सैनी, खलील अहमद.

भारतीय टीम का ऑस्ट्रेलिया दौरा (नवंबर-जनवरी 2025)

22-26 नवंबर: पहला टेस्ट, पर्थ
6-10 दिसंबर: दूसरा टेस्ट, एडिलेड
14-18 दिसंबर: तीसरा टेस्ट, ब्रिस्बेन
26-30 दिसंबर: चौथा टेस्ट, मेलबर्न
03-07 जनवरी: पांचवा टेस्ट, सिडनी

All-rounder Glenn Maxwell has backed senior batter Steve Smith to have a sensational Test series against India. Smith, who returned to international cricket with a solid 44 in the 1st ODI against Pakistan, has said before that he is fully prepared to play the Test series against India and could get into the Test fray if the match was to start this week.

Maxwell, who is an instrumental part of the Australian white-ball team, spoke about Smith on ESPNcricinfo and said that the batter looked very crisp against Pakistan in the 1st ODI game.

“Steve Smith looks really crisp with his footwork and his timing and his movement looked in sync. He looked like he was unfazed by everything that was thrown at him. There were a couple of balls on the green off the length and he was able to deal with them quite easily. And I suppose that’s a really good sign of someone who is focused on the job and really in tune with their technique,” Maxwell said on Around the Cricket show on ESPN.

“To see him over the last week, putting in so many hours in training sort of says why he is one of the best players in the world. He is never satisfied. For the way he came out and bat the way he did, there was a nice moment where he hit a cover drive and you could see him looking at the big screen and give himself the nod of approval and that is a sign of him working on his tecnhnique and it is a scary proposition for this summer ahead,” he further added.

Speaking after Australia’s win against Pakistan in the 1st ODI match, Smith revealed that he was raring to go and if allowed could play a Test match in the first week of November. The former Australia captain scored 44 runs off 46 balls at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Smith has been among the talking points recently in Test cricket after claiming the opener’s spot in the absence of David Warner. After not having prolific results in the series against West Indies, Smith ended the experiment and decided to drop down to his original No.4 position. The batter’s form will be key for Australia as they push to qualify for the WTC Final, set to be hosted at Lord’s next year.

“My last week in preparation has been really good. I feel like I’m in a nice place and moving really well, I’m really balanced at the crease, and I feel like my bat’s coming down a nice plane. So I was happy with the way about it tonight. It would be nice to have been out there a little bit longer,” Smith told SEN Radio after Australia’s win in the 1st ODI vs Pakistan.

“I’m ready. I’m ready now. Yeah, I could go out and play a Test match tomorrow, so I feel like I’m in a good place. I’ve had a really good week of training, came down here early and had a few hits. And I was just trying to get a few things right that I felt like I didn’t quite have in sync. And it all just clicked. And I feel like I’m in a good place now,” Smith further added.