Australia to bat first in fourth Test

Dharamsala March 25 (IANS) Australia captain Steven Smith won the toss and decided to bat first in the fourth and final cricket Test against India at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium here on Saturday.

The Indians have suffered a blow with their captain Virat Kohli unable to take to the field due to the shoulder injury he had picked up during the third Test in Ranchi. Ajinkya Rahane will lead the team in his absence.

The hosts made a couple of changes to their line-up replacing fast bowler Ishant Sharma with fellow pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar while left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was introduced as a replacement for Kohli.

The Australians named an unchanged line-up and will field the same players who did duty during the third Test.

Teams:

India: Lokesh Rahul Murali Vijay Cheteshwar Pujara Ajinkya Rahane (C) Karun Nair Ravichandran Ashwin Wriddhiman Saha Ravindra Jadeja Bhuvneshwar Kumar Kuldeep Yadav Umesh Yadav.

Australia: David Warner Matt Renshaw Steven Smith (C) Shaun Marsh Peter Handscomb Glenn Maxwell Matthew Wade Patt Cummins Steven O Keefe Nathan Lyon Josh Hazlewood.

--IANS
ajb/ksk