Returning Sharma opts to stick with India's opening combination against Australia

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — India’s winning combination is likely to get a bigger overhaul than Australia’s losing lineup from the opening match in Perth when the five-test series moves to Adelaide for the day-night, pink ball match.

Returning skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill have to squeeze back into the batting lineup after missing the big win in Perth last week, when paceman Jasprit Bumrah led India to a massive victory in a city where Australia usually dominates cricket.

Rohit said KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who combined for a 201-run opening partnership to give India the ascendency in the first test, would continue as the opening pair and he would bat “somewhere in the middle.”

Sharma usually bats at the top of the order but he missed the first test to be at the birth of his second child. He said he realized then that he didn't want to split up the opening formula.

“I was at home with my newborn in my arms and I was watching how KL batted and it was brilliant, to be honest," he said. "I felt there was no need to change that now.

“Clearly we want results, we want success, and those two guys at the top ... just looking at this one test match, they batted brilliantly."

Australia is set for just one lineup change when the second test starts Friday, with Scott Boland recalled for his first test match since the 2023 Ashes series to replace the injured Josh Hazlewood.

The 33-year-old Hazlewood, who took match figures of 5-57 from 34 overs in Australia’s heavy 295-run defeat in the first test, is out with a side strain.

Mitch Marsh will play and Australia skipper Pat Cummins said the allrounder is available to bowl, despite experiencing back soreness in Perth after bowling 17 overs last week.

“Made the call with the medical team over the last couple of days to give him a couple of days off bowling but expect him to warm up and, if required, will bowl,” Cummins said Thursday. "Guessing he would be required at some point.”

The Australians in recent decades have rarely been behind after a series-opening test on home soil, and are on the wrong end of a four-series streak against India. So the second match in Adelaide, where they're undefeated in the day-night test format, is crucial for team morale. Only one Australian team has rallied from 2-0 down to win a five-test series

“When you’re down there’s a little bit more (pressure) but we have been in similar situations in World Cups or other series," Cummins said. “We know we weren’t at our best last week, we have got a few things to work on.”

Cummins said the expected movement of the pink ball in the day-night conditions would suit Boland.

“As a captain, it’s pretty awesome to have Scotty come straight in,” he said.

India isn't expected to confirm its starting XI until the toss on Friday. Apart from Sharma and Gill, there's speculation veteran spin bowler Ravichandran Ashwin will return.

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Lineups:

Australia: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.

India (from): India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaisval, Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (captain) Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohamed Siraj.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Australia's captain Pat Cummins dives to field the ball on the third day of the first cricket test between Australia and India in Perth, Australia, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Trevor Collens)

Australia's captain Pat Cummins tosses the ball as he prepares to bowl on the third day of the first cricket test between Australia and India in Perth, Australia, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Trevor Collens)

Australia's Alex Carey ducks to avoid a bouncer from India's captain Jasprit Bumrah on the fourth day of the first cricket test between Australia and India in Perth, Australia, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Trevor Collens)

India's captain Jasprit Bumrah, center, celebrates with teammate Dhruv Jurel the wicket of Australia's Travis Head on the fourth day of the first cricket test between Australia and India in Perth, Australia, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Trevor Collens)

India's Virat Kohli celebrates his century on the third day of the first cricket test between Australia and India in Perth, Australia, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Trevor Collens)

India's Virat Kohli, right, celebrates the wicket of Australia's Travis Head after Rishabh Pant, left, took the catch on the fourth day of the first cricket test between Australia and India in Perth, Australia, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Trevor Collens)

India's Yashasvi Jaiswal, left, celebrates his century as teammate India's KL Rahul applauds on the third day of the first cricket test between Australia and India in Perth, Australia, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Trevor Collens)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lamar Jackson thought it was over. That the Baltimore Ravens' unwieldy season would end up in a familiar spot: the playoffs.

Then, rookie kicker Tyler Loop's potential game-winning field goal from 44 yards out drifted a little right. And then a little further right. And then a little further right still.

By the time it fluttered well wide of the goalposts, the playoffs were gone. So was Jackson's certainty after a 26-24 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday night sent the Ravens into what could be a turbulent offseason.

“I'm definitely stunned, man,” Jackson said. “I thought we had it in the bag. ... I don't know what else we can do.”

Jackson, who never really seemed fully healthy during his eighth season as he battled one thing after another, did his part. The two-time NFL MVP passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns, including two long connections with Zay Flowers in the fourth quarter that put the Ravens (8-9) in front.

It just wasn't enough. Baltimore's defense, which played most of the second half without star safety Kyle Hamilton after Hamilton entered the concussion protocol, wilted against 42-year-old Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers passed for a season-high 294 yards, including a 26-yard flip to a wide-open Calvin Austin with 55 seconds to go after a defender slipped, symbolic of a season in which Baltimore's defense only occasionally found its form.

Still, the Ravens had a chance when Jackson found Isaiah Likely for a 28-yard gain on fourth down from midfield. A couple of snaps later, the 24-year-old Loop walked on to try to lift Baltimore to its third straight division title.

Instead, the rookie said he “mishit” it. Whatever it was, it never threatened to sneak between the goalposts.

“It’s disappointing,” Loop said.

Loop was talking about the game. He might as well have been talking about his team's season.

The Ravens began 1-5 as Jackson dealt with injuries and the defense struggled to get stops. Baltimore found a way to briefly tie the Steelers for first in late November, only to then split its next four games, including a home loss to Pittsburgh.

Still, when Jackson and the Ravens walked onto the Acrisure Stadium turf on Sunday night in the 272nd and final game of the NFL regular season, Baltimore was confident. The Ravens drilled Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs a year ago behind the ever-churning legs of running back Derrick Henry.

When Henry ripped off a gain of 40-plus yards on the game's first offensive snap, it looked like it was going to be more of the same. While Henry did rush for 126 yards and joined Hall of Famer Barry Sanders as the only running backs in NFL history to have five 1,500-yard seasons, he was less effective in the second half.

Even that first run was telling of what night it was going to be, as an illegal block by wide receiver Zay Flowers cost Baltimore some field position. The Ravens ended up scoring on the drive anyway, thanks to a 38-yard fourth-down flip from Jackson to a wide-open Devontez Walker, but it started a pattern that was hard to shake as several steps forward were met with one step back on a night the Ravens finished with nine penalties for 78 yards.

“We were having a lot of penalties, which kept stopping drives," Jackson said. “But I'm proud of my guys because we kept overcoming. We kept overcoming adversity and situations like this. Divisional games (can) be like that sometimes.”

Particularly when the Steelers are on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Pittsburgh has won 10 of the last 13 meetings. And while a handful of them have been in late-season matchups with the Ravens already assured of reaching the playoffs, the reality is the Steelers have been able to regularly do something that most others have not: found a way to beat Jackson.

“It comes down to situations like this,” Jackson said. “Two-point conversion one year. Field goal another year. And again this year. Just got to find a way to get that win here.”

And figure out who is going to be around to help get it.

Head coach John Harbaugh's 18th season in Baltimore ended with the Ravens missing the playoffs for just the second time in eight years. Jackson turns 29 this week and is still one of the most electric players in the league.

Yet Harbaugh and Jackson have yet to find a way to have that breakthrough season that Harbaugh enjoyed with Joe Flacco in 2013 when the Ravens won the Super Bowl.

There was hope when the season began that the roadblocks that have long been in the franchise's way — Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes chief among them — would be gone.

While the Ravens did get their way in a sense — the Chiefs will watch the playoffs from afar for the first time in a decade after a nightmarish season of their own — it never all came together.

Jackson declined to endorse Harbaugh returning for a 19th season, saying the loss was still too fresh to zoom out on what it might mean for the franchise going forward.

Harbaugh, for his part, certainly seems up for running it back in the fall.

“I love these guys,” he said afterward. “I love these guys.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, right, hands the ball off to running back Derrick Henry (22) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh talks with an offical during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Justin Berl)

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, left, greets Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) after an NFL football game Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Jabrill Peppers (40) reacts after Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop (33) missed a field goal attempt in the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)