Former Indian opener, Gautam Gambhir has urged India to forget the demoralizing 8-wicket loss against Australia in the first Test after getting bundled out for a meager score of 36 in the second innings. He urged the players instead to remember the time how they dominated the first two days of the Adelaide Pink-ball Test.
Gautam Gambhir said there is a lot of onus on Ajinkya Rahane as India will be raring to make a roaring comeback into the 4-match Test series after going down 0-1. Rahane is the stand-in skipper in the absence of Virat Kohli who has headed home to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. Former Indian opener reckons that the team management needs to get their team combination right in the absence of two of their best players in Kohli and Shami to stand a chance of making a comeback in the Boxing Day Test.
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Gautam Gambhir said, “They need to remember that they actually dominated the first two days, they were ahead in the game throughout the first two days. They will be hurt about the one session – but again they need to remember that there are three test matches and at the same time they won’t have their best player Virat Kohli with them; their captain.”
He further elaborated, “So, there is a lot of onus on Ajinkya Rahane, plus Mohammad Shami will not be there. There will be a lot of onus on what combination they go with.”
Australia head coach Justin Langer pointed out that Australia will be having the edge in the boxing-day Test, considering the absence of Kohli and Shami. Langer also said the hosts will not take anything for granted and look to put pressure on stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane.
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Rahane’s batting form has been a cause for concern as the senior India batsman has been struggling for consistency in the recent past. In 2020, Rahane has managed just 133 runs in 6 innings at a below-par average of 22.16. It remains to be seen if Rahane will promote himself to No. 4 in the batting order as the Indian team can be expected to make 4 changes for the Boxing Day Test.
