Teams set for emotional series finale
The 2014 calendar year began with Australia at the SCG in celebration mode. The Ashes had been won and a 5-0 clean-sweep was there for the taking. The 2015 calendar year begins with Australia at the SCG, another series already in their grasp, but this time the mood is more subdued. It is the first time the Australians have played at the ground since their team-mate Phillip Hughes was struck down there by a bouncer on November 25, and died two days later.
Nearly half of Australia’s XI for this Test – David Warner, Shane Watson, Nathan Lyon, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Starc – were on the ground when Hughes collapsed. If the Adelaide Test was about raw emotion, this one will be about memories. A permanent memorial plaque for Hughes will also be unveiled at the ground.
On field, this Test will be about trying to finish the series on a high. Australia will raise the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after the match no matter what happens, but they can do so with a 3-0 series win. India, on the other hand, could drop to seventh on the ICC Test rankings if they lose in Sydney.
It is their first Test in the post-MS Dhoni era, with Virat Kohli officially the captain after temporarily taking the reins in Adelaide earlier in the series. India have been in all three Tests so far and have performed better here than Australia did in India in 2013, yet they have still found themselves on the losing side. Here is one more chance to change that.
