Sydney: India captain Virat Kohli sported pink colours during his 23-run knock on the opening day of the fourth Test against Australia here at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday.

Kohli supported the McGrath Foundation, which creates awareness on breast cancer and raises funds. The Indian skipper changed his bat rubber grip to pink and also wore gloves which had shades of pink.

This gesture from the right-handed batsman earned praises from former Australian cricketers including Glenn McGrath. The annual Sydney Test is called as ‘Pink Test’ played in honour of McGrath’s late wife Jane, who passed away due to breast cancer in 2008.

“There are plenty of stories where women watching the Test, they have sort of checked themselves or noticed something not quite normal, and gone and got themselves checked out and found out they had breast cancer but it was still in the early stages,” the Glenn McGrath told AAP.

Kohli came out to bat after the dismissal of Mayank Agarwal. He was booed by the crowd as he made an entry into the SCG ground. He scored 23 off 59 with four fours.

The first day belonged to India as Cheteshwar Pujara struck a super unbeaten 130 to take the team to 303/4. India lead the four-Test rubber 2-1 and a draw in Sydney will give their first-ever series win Down Under.

The first-ever ‘Pink Test’ was played in 2009. So far, 10 ‘Pink Test’ matches have been played.

The McGrath Foundation works for education in Australia as well as for educating people towards breast cancer. This institution raises money to keep breast care nurses across the country and also increases the awareness of this disease among the people. The foundation was started in 2005 after Jane was diagnosed with cancer.

The third day of the ongoing Test will be known as ‘Jane McGrath Day’.