Australia v India: second Test, day one – live!





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23:02

Australia won the toss and will bat

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22:35

Teams

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22:33

Get in touch





22:25

Preamble

Merry Boxing Day! I hope that you had a wonderful Boxing Day Eve, or for those of you in timezones where it is still Boxing Day Eve, enjoy. For those of you who find this time of the year more difficult than merry, I’ll wish you steadfastness and peace.

The good news from Melbourne is that despite a year that almost all of us would gladly scrub from memory, there is a Test match happening in this town that seemed impossible only a few weeks ago. Now it’s here, and what’s more it’s happening on a clear sunny day under a blue sky. The thermometer is climbing up towards 30 after a cool day on the 25th and a wintry couple of days leading up to it. Who can predict Melbourne, but who can resist when Melbourne smiles?

I’m on the train into Jolimont, where the mighty MCG rears from the parklands like some crashed spacecraft. The attendance is restricted to one-third capacity at the G but the train is filling up as we pass station after station. People are ready. Shorts are on. The tough off-duty tradies at the outer suburban stations now drink Emma & Tom’s smoothies rather than half-litres of energy drink, you may be interested to know. It’s a different feeling in 2020.

Ready for it? I’ve been ready all year.

source: theguardian.com