Australia vs India 2018-19: India's predicted XI for the final Test

India are at the cusp of making history in Australia. They are leading the series by 2-1 after beating Australia in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne. Earlier, India won the first Test at Adelaide before losing the 2nd Test at Perth.

India, having outplayed Australia in all the three departments, will not be looking to make wholesale changes in the final Test. The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) has a history of assisting spinners. India may be tempted to go with two spinners provided Ashwin is fit.

Let us look at India's predicted XI for the fourth and the final Test which is happening on 3rd of January at the historic SCG.

#1 Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal started his International career on a positive note

Mayank Agarwal has made a scintillating debut for India in the Boxing Day Test by scoring an aggressive half-century opening the batting in the first innings.

It was the first half-century by an Indian opener in this Test. Mayank's aggressive start helped India to post a formidable first innings total which helped India win the game convincingly.

He scored a brilliant 42 in the second innings steadying the ship from one end when other batsmen imploded. The Karnataka opening batsman came into International cricket after scoring tons of runs in the domestic cricket. His assured performance guaranteed him the opening slot again.

#2 Hanuma Vihari

India will continue to have Vihari as the opening batsman for the Final Test

The Indian Team Management decided to take a risk by sending Vihari as an opener. The risk did not pay as the make-shift opener got out for eight and thirteen runs in the 1st and 2nd innings respectively.

However, Vihari played for more than one hour on the first day without losing his wicket setting the platform for the middle-order to dominate the game.

Though he got out cheaply in both the innings, he looked assured compared to the other openers. He will be continued as an opener in the final Test. Also, his off-spinners at SCG will come in handy.

#3 Chateshwar Pujara

Pujara scored his 2nd century of the series in the Boxing Day Test

Pujara is arguably the best batsman of this tour. He has scored two centuries both of which resulted in India's win. He is the epitome of patience as he played 885 balls tearing the Australian attack apart.

The Test specialist is leading the runs-chart for series. He has scored 328 runs from three games at an impressive average of 54.66. He will look forward to continuing his form in the final Test too.

#4 Virat Kohli

Kohli will be looking forward to making history by beating Australia in Australia in a Test Series

After missing out to score big on the 1st Test, Virat Kohli rose to form and scored a brilliant century in the first innings. His century couldn't prevent Australia from winning the second Test.

The Indian captain continued his good form scoring 82 setting a platform for India's big first innings score of the third Test. His captaincy was spot-on in the third Test after drawing a lot of criticism for his team selection in the second Test.

Kohli is the second leading run scorer in the tournament having scored 259 runs at an average of 43.16.

#5 Ajinkya Rahane

Rahane would love to convert his starts into a three-digit figure at SCG

Rahane is struggling in this series too to convert his starts into a big score. India could have taken a big lead had Rahane scored a century in the second Test which could have changed the fate of the game.

He looks assured on the crease and yet finding ways to get out. Even in the Melbourne Test, Rahane scored a patient 34. Rahane is the fourth leading run-scorer of the series with 199 runs from three games.

India may think of replacing him with Hardik Pandya to provide some bowling support. However, Rahana will keep his place despite a string of average performances.

#6 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma sealed his spot for the final Test with a neat unbeaten half-century

The presence of Rohit Sharma in the lower middle-order is providing phenomenal stability to their batting line-up. Rohit impressed everyone with a patient 63 in the first inning of the Boxing Day Test. He was unbeaten when India declared their innings at 443.

The ODI superstar has also scored a quick fire 35 in the first Test before losing his spot because of injury in the second Test. Rohit's position in the playing XI is safe after an impressive first innings half-century.

#7 Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant has done nothing wrong to deserve sacking for the final Test

The young wicket-keeper showed everyone that he can adjust to the team's necessity and pitch condition as he played cautiously in the Boxing Day Test. Pant scored 39 runs and got out in the process to accelerate before India's declaration.

The 21-year-old steadied the ship in the 2nd innings with a quickfire 33 off 44 balls helping India to declare their second innings fast.

Pant looked assured behind the wicket too. Apart from a couple of instances, Pant's wicketkeeping was majorly impressive.

#8 Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja's accurate bowling has tormented Australia throughout the 3rd Test

Ravindra Jadeja has bowled extremely well in the Boxing Day Test match. He claimed five wickets in the match, and he outplayed Nathon Lyon who took just one wicket in the match. His accurate bowling has chocked Australia from one end which led the fast bowlers to wrap them up.

Ravichandran Ashwin will fight for the spinner should he prove his fitness in the next few days. However, India will likely go with Ravindra Jadeja because of his ability to provide batting stability down the order.

Also, Jadeja's ability to complete his over is less a minute gives no breathing space for the Australian batsman.

#9 Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma is leading the Indian fast bowling attack

Ishant Sharma is another automatic choice for the Indian Playing XI. He has been impressive so far with his immaculate bowling. Being the senior member of the squad, he has led the bowling department extremely well.

He has taken 11 wickets so far in this series and has provided break-through wickets at the crucial moments throughout the series. His ability to bowl long spells has helped India to go with just four main-stream bowlers adding more depth to the batting.

#10 Mohammed Shami

Shami is India's leading wicket-taker of 2018

Mohammed Shami has been in imperious form this year. He has performed exceedingly well in the second Test taking a five-for. Shami's ability to reverse swing the ball will make him undroppable for the Final Test at SCG which generally assists reverse swing.

The fast bowler can bring India back into the match from dire situations through his array of wickets in a spell. He has taken 14 wickets so far in this series and will definitely retain his spot for the final Test match.

#11 Jasprit Bumrah

Bumrah's six-for humiliated Australian batting line-up in the 3td Test at Melbourne

Jasprit Bumrah is arguably one of the world's best fast bowlers in the world at the moment. The so-called ODI specialist made his debut only in 2018. However, the lanky fast bowler has tormented batsmen with his pace, swing, and yorkers.

The right-arm fast bowler has taken 39 wickets from his eight Tests this year and will most likely feature in ICC World Test XI for his consistent performance across South Africa, England, and Australia.

Bumrah is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 20 wickets. He bagged the Man of the Match award for the Boxing Day Test and is all set to win the Player of the Series award too.