Team India on Friday announced the playing XI for the second Test against Australia, which will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from Saturday.
The visitors have made four changes from the first match, which was a pink-ball fixture at the Adelaide Oval. Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohmmad Siraj have made the cut.
Gill will partner Mayank Agarwal in the opening role. His selection was anticipated after Prithvi Shaw’s dismal performance in the first match of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
Pant, on the other hand, will be replacing Wriddhiman Saha as the wicketkeeper. It has been a common perception among the team management that Pant would be better suited than Saha in the SENA countries with the bat.
The other two, Jadeja and Siraj, have filled the two spots vacated by the absence of Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami. While Kohli will skip the remaining three Tests due to his paternity leave, Shami has been ruled out of the series due to injury.
Also, due to Kohli’s absence, Ajinkya Rahane will lead the team in the last three Tests in Australia. It remains to be seen how he handles the developments especially with the tourists trailing 0-1 in the four-match series.
Australia last week registered brilliant 8-wicket win over India in the first Test of the four-match series at the Adelaide Oval after the bowlers had bundled the visitors for a meager total of 35 runs in the second innings.
Chasing the target of 90 runs, Australia reached the total in just 21 overs on Day 3 of the pink-ball Test. Opener Joe Burns remained unbeaten on 51 off 63 balls.
Starting the innings with a 53-run lead, India lost nine wickets in just 27 runs in the first session on Day 3 of the pink-ball Test. Mohammed Shami, the No. 11 batsman, retired hurt and could not bat.
Josh Hazlewood (5/8) and Pat Cummins (4/21) with their fiery spells have now given Australia a complete control over the Day-Night fixture. The hosts need to chase 90 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.