<p>It really is the most wonderful time of year. That’s right, we’re up to our eyeballs in the summer of cricket and it’s only about to get better.</p> <p>That’s right the showpiece event of the summer is up next – the Boxing Day Test. This year Australia’s adversaries at the MCG will be India, who are Down Under for a five-test series.</p> <p>Both sides enter the 2024 Boxing Day Test on one win apiece after the wash out in Brisbane resulted in a draw.</p> <p>Who will shake off the Christmas food coma quicker and take the upper hand in the series or are we set for another stalemate?</p> <p>Looking for tips hotter than the Aussie summer? Check out our Boxing Day Test 2024 Preview and Predictions below.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Australia vs India Preview</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>There’s more at stake here than meets the eye, with the result of this test series set to decide who makes the World Test Championship Final.</p> <p>The winner here is all but guaranteed a spot, while the loser will need results to go their way to make it.</p> <p>As always with test cricket there is plenty of scrutiny on plenty of players heading into this test. For the Aussies their whole top order is on notice as they currently have the worst ever average of any Aussie top three batter in a home test series.</p> <p>That means players like Nathan McSweeney are running out of chances and he’ll need to put bat to ball quick smart, or risk losing his spot to young firebrand Sam Konstas. That’s if he doesn’t lose it before this test, however the general consensus is that he will be given a final chance to show his quality.</p> <p>Marnus Labuschagne is also under pressure like never before with a lean run of form only broken up by his 63 at the Adelaide Oval.</p> <p>For the visitors, captain Rohit Sharma needs to get it together this test with his spot in order under a cloud following a few poor showings.</p> <p>Their pace trio also need to click into gear, with the only notable bowling performances of late coming from their talisman Jasprit Bumrah. However, he cannot be expected to carry this team on his own every time.</p> <p>With plenty on the line and so many with so much to prove, as long as the rain stays away this should be a true post-Christmas cracker.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Boxing Day Test 2024 Betting Tips &amp; Predictions</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Head-to-Head (H2H)</h3> <p>Australia are currently the favourites for this one in the H2H market. The draw is paying 10.00 at the time of writing and is unlikely unless we see more wet and wild weather like in Brisbane.</p> <p>As always, we are expecting an extremely vocal and passionate crowd down at the G. The Aussies will no doubt look to get the crowd into the game early on to help gain momentum outside of the oval.</p> <p>India should come out looking to mark their mark from the get-go in an attempt to quell the noise from the stands. They also know that once Australia gets the upper hand and place their foot on the throat, they rarely lift it.</p> <p>We’re not expecting total domination from either nation here, but we are tipping the Aussies to scrap through in the latter stages and seal another famous win.</p> <p><strong>Betting tip:</strong> Australia.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Top Runs Scorer</h3> <p>At the moment, there really is only one man for this market for us. Travis Head has been in fine touch of late and his form against India in particular over the past few years has been nothing short of astounding.</p> <p>After crunching 152 off 160 at the Gabba, he has shown he knows how to battle aggressively and effectively against the Indian’s well-rounded bowling attack.</p> <p><strong>Betting tip:</strong> Travis Head.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Player of the Match</h3> <p>The safe play here would be to back hometown hero Scott Boland. The paceman will be looking to fire at the G once again, where he has a phenomenal strike rate.</p> <p>A more left field option for the less patriotic would be to back Mohammed Siraj. The crowd will be firmly against him, so expect him to fire up to keep them quiet and leave his mark on the series.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Betting tip: </strong>Scott Boland.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Leading Wicket Taker</h3> <p>Scotty Boland is a solid tip for this market too, but so is Indian quick Jasprit Bumrah. He knows how to carry a nation of approximately a billion people on his shoulders and will be looking to do so again on Boxing Day with as many Aussie scalps as he can muster.</p> <p><strong>Betting tip:</strong> Jasprit Bumrah.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>How to Watch the 2024 Boxing Day Test</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>As always, the Boxing Day Test will be available for every Australian to watch on free-to-air TV. Channel 7 will be broadcasting the five-day extravaganza this year.</p> <p>There are also other options available for those who have long gotten rid of their TV. Both sports streaming service Kayo as well as Foxtel will be providing coverage of Australia taking on India at the MCG.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Boxing Day Test 2024 Details</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Location: </strong>MCG, Melbourne, Victoria.</p> <p><strong>Date: </strong>Thursday, December 26 – Monday, December 30, 2024.</p> <p><strong>Start time: </strong>10:30am AEDT.</p> <p><strong>Where to watch: </strong>Channel 7, Kayo, Foxtel.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Australia vs India Series Odds</h2>