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

9th over: Australia 20-1 (Labuschagne 5, Smith 3) The wicket first ball brings SPD Smith to the crease. Another early entrance for him after Warner and Harris failed. Ashes flashbacks, anyone? Maybe he’s having them too, because he forces a drive down the ground for three to get going quickly.

Shardul Thakur with his first ball of the match! Well, well, well. On his Test debut in 2018 he got through 1.4 overs and couldn’t continue with injury. He’s had a long wait for another chance and he gets that sweet reward at the earliest moment, taking his first Test wicket. He’s a swing bowler, and he swings the ball into Harris’ pads, leading Harris to try clipping through midwicket. He’s partially beaten by the movement and clips it squarer and airborne to Sundar at square leg.

8th over: Australia 17-1 (Harris 5, Labuschagne 5) A maiden from Natarajan to Labuschagne, the left-armer angling it across repeatedly and being left.

7th over: Australia 17-1 (Harris 5, Labuschagne 5) In a shock for us all, Marcus Harris plays a huge slash outside off stump and is beaten by bounce from Siraj. Then accidentally gets bat on a ball that he’s trying to leave and nearly plays it onto his stumps. Gets a single from that, as does Labuschagne from another glance. Siraj isn’t coping with the switch from left-hander to right.

So India won their last tour to Australia by having a squad of five fine quick bowlers. All of them are now injured: Bhuvi, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah. Then they’ve lost their two best spinners in Ashwin and Jadeja. If Australia had suffered a similar toll they would have lost Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon, then James Pattinson and Michael Neser, plus Mitchell Swepson. The bowling attack would currently be something like Lloyd Pope, Jason Behrendorff, Jhye Richardson and… comeback for Joe Mennie? Chadd Sayers? Chris Tremain? The contrast is interesting.

6th over: Australia 15-1 (Harris 4, Labuschagne 4) So India have used 19 players in this series, which Adam Collins is telling me is the most they’ve used in a series since the early 1960s. Presumably that was at home. Poor old Kuldeep, who took a back of wickets against Australia two years ago but can’t get a gong this time around despite the injury toll. The rationale for playing Sundar, despite him being an IPL style fast spinner, is that he can bat, so he’s being backed at No7 to let India play four quicks. They could have added Prithvi Shaw to bolster the batting with Kuldeep at 8, and they may feel Kuldeep’s absence: SK Warne always says this was the best ground to bowl wrist spin.

Natarajan bowls another five dot balls to Labuschagne after Harris glances a single.

5th over: Australia 14-1 (Harris 4, Labuschagne 4) Siraj to Labuschagne, who defends, defends, defends, defends, but as soon as Siraj drops short Marnus bangs the pull shot away to the square leg fence to open his scoring. His home deck, he knows how it plays. That surface smells like runs from here in the grandstand. It’s shining brightly in the Queensland sunlight. Bright day here, on the hot side. It’ll be hard work out there.

4th over: Australia 10-1 (Harris 3, Labuschagne 0) Another Natarajan over that starts with a no-ball, but doesn’t yield any other runs. The left-armer is bowling to the left-handed Harris, mostly straight, and Harris tries the on-drive a couple of times but can’t get it past mid on. Strikes them crisply though. The total versus runs off the bat split is 10-4, good buddy.

3rd over: Australia 9-1 (Harris 3, Labuschagne 0) Siraj continues with the wind in his sails, and he’s achieved what so many touring teams have not at the Gabba: get rid of Warner early. More often than not Warner has still been there in the third session at the right end of a huge score. Siraj bowls down leg side to Labuschagne who gets some thigh pad on it for four leg byes. Four runs off the bat for Australia, five extras.

2nd over: Australia 5-1 (Harris 3, Labuschagne 0) “Come on Marnus!” shout a few Queenslanders as the first drop makes his way to the middle after six balls. Thangarasu Natarajan, the left-armer who bowled so well in the limited-overs games last November and December, has the ball. A T20 debut, an ODI debut, and now a Test debut on the same tour. He’s more nervous about this one than any other, I’ll wager, given he starts with a no-ball, then bowls way down leg side, and finishes with one very wide of off stump, curling away from Harris. No runs off the bat though, that’s something.

1st over: Australia 4-1 (Harris 3) Siraj does the job in his first over! Warner takes the first ball of the match and scores a single, Harris slants three runs away in front of point, but from the final ball of the over Siraj strikes. Right-arm across the left-hander, pitched up full and straight but swinging away, squares up Warner who skews a catch into the cordon and Rohit from second slip comes sprawling across to his right to snare the dying ball just above the turf. Quality grab!

A nice atmosphere walking up to the ground, lots of people milling around in their sun hats and summer shirts, so there is some festive feel to the Test match still. A few connection issues on arrival too, but we’re here and underway.

Changes galore. Harris in for the injured Pucovski for Australia. India will miss Ashwin, Jadeja, Vihari and Bumrah from the Sydney draw with injury. No Kuldeep Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, or Prithvi Shaw. Instead Natarajan and Thakur will both play as part of a four-pronged bowling attack, Pant will bat six and keep, with Washington Sundar at seven as the spinner. Agarwal is recalled but in the middle order with Gill staying up top.

Australia
David Warner
Marcus Harris
Marnus Labuschagne
Steve Smith
Matthew Wade
Cameron Green
Tim Paine * +
Pat Cummins
Mitchell Starc
Nathan Lyon
Josh Hazlewood

India
Rohit Sharma
Shubman Gill
Cheteshwar Pujara
Ajinkya Rahane *
Mayank Agarwal
Rishabh Pant +
Washington Sundar
Shardul Thakur
Navdeep Saini
Mohammed Siraj
T Natarajan

Uh-oh for India! That toss is usually very important at the Gabba, a ground where big scores often come in the first innings. Tim Paine says “The pitch looks a lot drier than it normally does this early, and there’s already one big crack running down the middle.”

If you’ve stumbled into the OBO for the first time, rocking its batwing doors open only to have the occupants of the saloon turn to stare at you blearily, we welcome your correspondence. Observations, insights, takes of the unexpected. I don’t mind. My Guardian email address and my non-Guardian Twitter address are in a sidebar that you’ll find on your page. Unlike some, I have not been banned from the platform for inciting insurrection, and will not need to make my cricket observations via political press releases.