The first day of the fourth Test between India and Australia in Melbourne is expected to witness hot conditions that will test the players out on the field, as per the city's weather forecast for Boxing Day (December 26).
With the five-Test Border Gavaskar Trophy series tantalisingly poised at 1-1, weather is expected to add 'heat' to the proceedings, which have already seen tempers flaring on multiple occasions during the previous three matches.
According to Accuweather.com, Thursday in Melbourne will be "breezy and very hot with a thick cloud cover", with a warning that "extreme heat can be dangerous for outdoor activities".
PITCH REPORT
As far as the pitch to be used for the match is concerned, it had a tinge of green until 2-3 days before the match, which led to speculation if another bouncy track will be rolled out to trouble the Indian batters.
But the Melbourne Cricket Ground's pitch curator said "they (MCG pitches) are still good for batting once the new ball softens", even though the ground staff leaves "more grass on the pitches now" that "brings the bowlers into play more".
India captain Rohit Sharma said the visitors haven't ruled out the possibility of playing two spinners, but as per the pitch curator, there won't be any turn on offer.
"Spinners? Oh, it doesn't really break up and spin here. If you look at our long-format games over the last four or five years, they’ve been more seam-friendly than spin-friendly. So I don’t see that changing here," Page said.
The match will start at 5 am IST on Thursday.
