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NEW DELHI: Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who had opted to bat lower down the order in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – a move that failed to yield the desired results – is likely to return to his customary opening role in the ongoing fourth Test against Australia at the MCG, according to assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.
Rohit managed only 19 runs batting at number six in the second and third Tests. With the batting order reshuffle, KL Rahul will bat at number three as India has dropped Shubman Gill.
“Rohit will come up in the order and more likely than not he will open the innings for us,” Nayar told reporters on Thursday after the first day’s play of the Boxing Day Test. Rohit is most likely to open the batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal, with KL Rahul dropping to No.3.
Nayar also explained the reasoning behind excluding Gill for the Boxing Day Test. “I feel for Shubman but he understands. He’s not really dropped, just couldn’t find his way in the combination,” Nayar said.
Talking about the match, Australia’s top four all notched scores of 50 or more, taking command on day one, with teenage opener Sam Konstas stealing the spotlight.
Batting first after captain Pat Cummins won the toss on a sweltering day, the hosts ended the day at 311/6 in front of over 87,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
They capitalised on some erratic early bowling and a blistering start from Konstas.
The 19-year-old, in a debut to remember, smashed an electrifying 60 off 65 balls, hammering 18 runs in a single over off Jasprit Bumrah and sharing a fiery exchange with superstar Virat Kohli.
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