MELBOURNE, Dec 25:
A few bruised egos will eye redemption when India square off against Australia in the second Test here from Saturday, ready to bounce back in skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s hour of reckoning after hitting the ‘nadir of 36’.
Seldom has an Indian outfit been at such difficult crossroads in recent years as it is in the aftermath of the humiliating defeat in Adelaide and Virat Kohli’s departure for the birth of his child.
But the good thing is that star-in-waiting, Shubman Gill, is ready to honour his team’s leap of faith in him when he makes his Test debut at the imposing Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Likewise, young workhorse Mohammed Siraj will step in temporarily to fill the void created by crafty Mohammed Shami’s injury and it will be about how Rahane, touted as a bowler’s captain, handles him.
Teams:
Australia XI: Tim Paine (captain and wk), Joe Burns, Matthew Wade, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Pat Cummins, Josh Jazlewood, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon.
India XI: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Match Starts at 5 am IST. (PTI)
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