Team India were handed a hammering from the Australians in the first test in Adelaide. Australians being on the back foot early on in Day 2 recovered very well with their bowlers on Day 3. They bowled out the Indian batting line-up for just 36 and won the game in style inside 21 overs. From 7 for 1 at stumps on Day 2, the visitors were brought down to 19 for 6 inside the first half-hour of day 3 and were 31-9 after the fall of Hanuma Vihari for 8.
India finally declared on 36 for 9 after Mohammed Shami coped up with an injury on his bowling arm. This was also India’s lowest ever total in Test Cricket. Heading into the next game in Melbourne, the Aussies are charged up while the Indian team have a few headaches to sort out and come back stronger. With Virat Kohli returning back, we look a 3 changes Team India should make in the second test in Melbourne starting in a week’s time.
3 Changes Team India Should Make in The 2nd Test against Australia:
1. Shubman Gill for Prithvi Shaw
Tom Moody said picking Prithvi Shaw for the Australia test series was a mistake from the Indian selectors and it turned out to be that way. Shaw scored a duck and four in the two innings in Adelaide and left everyone to talk a lot about his technique. People like Sunil Gavaskar, Ricky Ponting too said that the youngster needs to make a change in his technique and advised him to work on the same in the domestic circuit.
It was due to Shaw and Mayank’s failures that India did not get a good opening start in both the innings which is critical in Australian conditions. Shubman Gill, who has a better technique can replace Shaw at the top of the order. Gill has scores of 65 and 43 in the second Warm-up game and one believes that he can be a better addition at the top of the order for Shaw.
Also Read: Ricky Ponting Predicts The Result of India-Australia Series
2. KL Rahul For Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli will not be a part of the remaining three test matches for Team India. In a situation like this, KL Rahul is the best bet to replace him in the playing XI. He will probably bat at number five with Ajinkya Rahane stepping up at number four. KL Rahul can also open the innings depending on what is best suited as per the team combination.
He has been batting at number five in ODI cricket in last year or so, however, test cricket comes up with a different challenge altogether. He last played test cricket over a year ago against West Indies in their own backyard. He was not included in the test matches against New Zealand as well. Keeping in mind, the recent form he has shown in Australia, Rahul is the best replacement for Virat Kohli and bat both at the top-order or at number five.
The possibility of India winning the test series without Virat Kohli is very difficult and this is what adds to the pressure of KL Rahul to perform.
Also Read: Virat Kohli Ends 2020 Without A Single International Century
3. Navdeep Saini in For Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami injured his right-hand while batting and as per Virat Kohli, he is in pain and cannot even move the hand. The pacer in all likelihood seems to miss the next test match if not all of the remaining one. For now, Shami is under the watchful eye of the Indian medical staff who have taken him for scans.
“No news on Shami, he’s going for a scan now. He was in a lot of pain, couldn’t even lift his arm. We’ll probably know in the evening what happens,” Kohli revealed in the post-match presentation.
This has just added to the woes of the Indian team who are yet to recover from their batting collapse earlier in the day. The Boxing Day Test match starts from December 26 in Melbourne.
Also Read: Twitter Reacts To India’s Dramatic Batting Collapse On Day 3 in Adelaide Pink-Ball Test