Australia vs India, TEST, 5th Test, January 2, 2025 - Venue

Venue description: One of the oldest Test venues, Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) hosted its first Test an Ashes encounter between Australia and England, way back in 1882. A Test regular, Sydney usually holds the popular 'New Year Test' that is generally played in the first week of January. The ground is also a pre-dominant ODI venue and has hosted numerous final matches as well as the crucial semi-final in the 1992 World Cup. One of the most popular sporting venues across the world, SCG was the ground where Sir Don Bradman made his highest ever first class score of 452, for New South Wales against Queensland in 1928-29. How does the pitch play? Sydney is known to be a good batting wicket, with the spinners coming into the picture on days 4 and 5 of a Test match. It doesn't offer the true bounce of the Gabba or the raw pace of the WACA, but turns which ensures spinners have one venue in Australia to look forward to rolling their arm over. By Pradeep Krishnamurthy