Rohit Sharma to bat at No.5 against Australia in Adelaide? India captain drops major hint during IND vs PM XI tour game
Captain Rohit Sharma had missed India's first Test against Australia due to the birth of his second child.
Captain Rohit Sharma dropped a major hint on what India's batting line-up would look like as he batted out of the top two for the first time since 2015. Playing his first game in Australia this year, Rohit came out at No.4 with KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal continuing as openers against the Australian Prime Minister's XI in a tour game in Canberra on Sunday.
Having excelled with a 200-plus stand in Perth Test which India won by 295 runs, the Rahul-Jaiswal is likely to open the batting in Adelaide too, as Rohit and the Indian think tank don't want to tinker with the successful combination.
Along with Rohit, Shubman Gill too missed the Perth Test due to an injured thumb. The right-hander came out to bat at No.3 against PM XI, thus finalising India's top three in the pink ball Test. Virat Kohli, who scored a hundred in Perth and chose to give the tour game a miss, is likely to bat at his designated No.4 position.
While Rohit Sharma batted at No.4 against Prime Minister's XI, it is certain that he is not going to get a place in the top four in case the Indian management opts with the same opening pair as in the previous Test and Gill at one down.
In that case, Rohit in all probability will come at No.5, pushing Rishabh Pant to No.6. Against PM XI, Rohit managed just three off 11 balls before being dismissed against Charlie Anderson.
Rohit Sharma's Test record outside top two
Rohit started his Test career in the middle order in 2013 before being brought at the top in 2019. If statistics are taken care off, Rohit has scored 2685 runs in 42 Tests while batting in top two. he batted at No.3 in four games, scoring just 107 runs. At No.4, Rohit managed just four runs while scoring 437 runs in nine matches at No.5.
From 2013 to 2018, Rohit batted at No.6, scoring 1037 runs in 16 games. With Rohit and Gill coming in, Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel are likely to make their ways out of the playing XI.
The second Test between India and Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy will begin on December 6.
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Business NewsSportsCricket NewsRohit Sharma to bat at No.5 against Australia in Adelaide? India captain drops major hint during IND vs PM XI tour game
First Published:1 Dec 2024, 04:04 PM IST
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