IND vs AUS Boxing Day Test: Mayhem in Melbourne awaits as India’s WTC final dreams hinges on must-win contest

Rohit Sharma and co. will head into IND vs AUS Boxing Day Test in what will be a must-win contest, with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy tied at 1-1 and India’s World Test Championship (WTC) final dreams at stake. After starting off the series on a bright note with a 295-run win in Perth, India were handed a 10-wicket thrashing in Adelaide.

While they were very close to compounding their woes in Brisbane, rain and a resilient bowling attack from the visitors ensured that the game ended in a draw. Now, all the attention shifts to the game at the MCG where both Australia and India will be eyeing to go one up against each other. India need to win this contest in order to keep their hopes of making it to the WTC finals alive, and not depend on Australia or Pakistan to fetch results in their favour.

India’s top-order woes need to end!

In order for India to taste success in Melbourne, it is imperative for the top-order to start firing. Reports have claimed that Rohit Sharma is all set to return to being an opener after spending the last two matches while batting in the middle-order and managing to score just 19 runs in three innings. His partner Yashasvi Jaiswal needs to pull up his socks and be a bit more patient while batting against the mighty Australian pacers. The southpaw tasted success in Perth but went on to squander opportunities in the next two matches, leaving India in quite a bit of situation.

India will also need Virat Kohli to find a way to deal with his “outside off” problem and start firing all cylinders. Just like Jaiswal, Kohli only managed to taste success in Perth where he managed to score a century. In the games post that contest, he has looked very much out of form and has struggled to read the bowlers.

Reports have also indicated that India are planning to drop Shubman Gill from the side, after his struggle in Adelaide and Brisbane. While it may not be the wisest of the things to do, the team could potentially make way for Dhruv Jurel’s inclusion in the XI by doing so. It is to be noted that this would only strengthen the middle-order, given that the keeper-batter is a proper middle-order batter and has already been in Australia for the last two months and hence is very well aware of the conditions. In that case, Rohit Sharma and co. might have to look at Virat Kohli moving back to the number three position.

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No changes to middle-order, please!

India’s middle-order has been solid in IND vs AUS Test series so far, with Nitish Kumar Reddy being the standout performer. In just three Tests, he has arguably been one of the more comfortable batters against the Australian bowlers and is the fourth highest run-getter in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, reports claimed that he is all set to lose his position in the playing XI and pave way for Washington Sundar’s inclusion in the side. While this could bolster India’s batting depth, it may not be the best of the decisions, simply because of the momentum that Reddy is playing with at present.

KL Rahul is expected to once again be shuffled down the batting order and return to batting at number five or six. He has been India’s best batter in the ongoing series, having tasted success both in terms of scoring runs with the bat and managing to hang around in the crease more than the rest of his teammates. Ravindra Jadeja is expected to retain his place in the playing XI while it is imperative for Rishabh Pant to find his mojo once again and pull off a wonder at the MCG.

Two spinners on a green-top surface?

Reports indicate that India could most likely head into the Melbourne Test with two spinners – Jadeja and Sundar. This means that the team will have to drop Nitish. Again, it isn’t the wisest of the decision to go with two spinners on a surface which looks like it will favour the pacers the most. MCG head curator Matt Page had earlier remarked that the surface at the MCG would make any fast bowler excited, dropping a rather direct hint of what to expect from the surface. The trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep are expected to taste more success at the MCG than the spinners. With that being said, dropping Nitish Reddy from the game at a green-top surface could haunt India in the coming days.

India squad for IND vs AUS Boxing Day Test

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Rohit Sharma(c), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep, Tanush Kotian, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana