Boxing Day Test preview: Rohit, Kohli in focus again as India, Australia battle for lead

An out-of-form captain Rohit Sharma's batting position will be back in focus against Australia bracing to deliver the knockout punch in the Boxing Day Test starting in Melbourne on Thursday (December 26).

The Indian skipper was the last to hit the nets on Christmas eve and there is speculation doing rounds that he could replace the team's most assured opener, KL Rahul, at the top of the order in the fourth Test for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

If that happens, Rahul will come in at No. 3 while Shubman Gill could either play in the middle order or make way for Dhruv Jurel in the playing eleven. The series is currently locked 1-1.

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The Indian skipper stopped batting in the middle order after being elevated to the opening slot back in 2019. But he chose to come down in Adelaide and Brisbane to accommodate an in-form Rahul and first-Test centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal.

The move was a spectacular failure and it remains to be seen how the team adjusts in case Rohit opens and Gill is either dropped or bats at number five.

Asked about his batting position during the pre-match press conference, he was borderline irritated.

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"Let's not worry about that. I think who bats where, we should be discussing that within ourselves and I shouldn't be answering this question in every press conference," the skipper just about held his composure.

How teams are stacked

Both captains feel that 1-1 after three games is a fair reflection of the competition between the sides but things can quickly change at the MCG.

The rain-affected draw at the Gabba was like a soothing balm for India after Pink Test debacle in Adelaide.

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But now, India are back at one of their favourite Australian venues where they have remained undefeated in Tests since the 2014 series.

The last two (2018-19 and 2020-21) of the three Tests (other being 2014-15) resulted in Indian wins where solid batting played its part.

But this line-up, with three young mavericks (Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill), one confident opener (KL Rahul) and a couple of ageing stalwarts (Virat Kohli and Rohit) hasn't looked very assured.

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They will have to put up their best show against a home team which isn't exactly a runaway favourite either but has shown tremendous resilience.

For under-fire Rohit, it is his own reputation as a Test batter that is at stake while Kohli will need to channelise the inner champion in him which lit up the MCG skyline with the most talked about sixes in his T20 career.

Those sixes required flair, the situation now will warrant loads of patience when Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc tease him with that probing line outside the off stump.

For Rohit, the equation is as simple as it gets. Win the next two Tests and likely head into a potentially memorable swansong at the Lord's in June.

A captain has to score and even without an injured Josh Hazlewood, Australia would be a handful with local hero Scott Boland ready to bowl those uncompromising hard lengths.

Jaiswal, Gill and Pant would like to live up to their own expectations and go into the game with an uncluttered mindset as expected by their skipper.

Indian bowling combination

For the hosts, all eyes will be on teenage sensation Sam Konstas, billed as one for the future with an attacking game to match Jasprit Bumrah.

Konstas would do well to know that Bumrah has already put brakes on his predecessor Nathan McSweeney's career.

The other good news for Australia is that the marauding Travis Head is fully fit and raring to go at Melbourne which is certain to increase the creases on Rohit's forehead.

Head had an extended session on Wednesday where he appeared for a fitness test and then looked in good touch at the nets.

With scores of 89, 140 and 152, the Indian bowlers need some special plans to counter their main threat.

Temperature is predicted to be close to 40 degrees followed by an equally hot second day, which is why the role of an extra spinner is being seriously looked into by the team management.

But if one looks at teams in recent Tests at MCG, the option for second specialist spinner has never looked viable.

The pitches at MCG, over the years, don't have too many cracks but could offer variable bounce which Nathan Lyon has used to the fullest in the past.

But then Lyon, as a finger spinner, is in a different league compared to a relatively inexperienced Washington Sundar.

The question is where does one fit in Washington? Dropping Nitish Reddy could just be a very poor move.

Will they trade a seamer like Akash Deep specifically looking at conditions? Looks unlikely unless it's a like-for-like fast bowler taking that slot.

Rohit will have a lot on his plate as skipper and more as batter if he goes back to the top.

The squads

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

Australia (XI): Pat Cummins (captain), Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marcus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland.

Match starts at 5 am IST

(With agency inputs)