Ind Vs Aus 4th Test: Will batting on DAY 5 at MCG become nightmare for India? Here's what pitch looks like

Amid the fourth Test between India and Australia underway the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, Pat Cummins-led side has breached the 300-plus target for the Men in Blue to chase on the fifth Day.

Though it may appear India could sail the target easily citing the batting prowess, but pitch conditions can act as a hindrance ahead of the Men in Blue.

Looking at the pitch, its surface already offers inconsistent bounce, and the deliveries come at the stump height, making them unplayable. So, on DAY 5 of the Boxing Day Test in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, the bounce is expected to become less and more inconsistent.

Elaborating about the expected pitch conditions on Day 5, Australia's top scorer, Marnus Labuschagne, said, as quoted by Times Now, "I think from the first innings, there was some movement, obviously. It was hard work in that first probably, especially the first 40 to 50 overs. But as the game's gone on, the bounce has become less and more inconsistent. So we're just getting more balls hitting the stumps. More balls are skidding through."

Labuschagne further opined that despite the degree of lateral movement is still the same, there may be a difference in height.

"The seam movement's probably been the same. But just the amount of bounce is significantly lower. So that makes for pretty tricky batting there. Because more balls are hitting the stumps from a shorter length."

He added that Day 4 of the Test match went according to plan.

"We obviously had the perfect outcome for us. And they probably... we looked like having a bowl tonight and putting them under pressure. But, you know, the way the wicket played and the way India bowled and came out and put us under pressure in that first 40 to 50 overs, you know, declaration wasn't an option for us," he concluded.

Ind Vs Aus Day 5: Weather conditions

According to the AccuWeather, the weather on 30 December has a probability of precipitation at 4 percent, but the cloud cover would be around 93 percent. This may hinder the game for sometime, due to bad light issues, but there is barely any chance of rain.