A typical Boxing Day Test! After the first four days, we didn’t know what the result would be. Australia’s tailend show defied India, who rose from the ashes after Nitish Kumar Reddy’s maiden Test century. But how did the other batters fare? How did the two veterans, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continue their shambolic form in the ongoing BGT? India needed to chase 340 on the last day and they opted to save the Test. But they couldn’t. Yashasvi Jaiswal was batting like a star but a controversial decision deemed him out. But what about other batters? On that note, let us look at a report card of all the nine batters from the game.
Rohit Sharma: 0/10, Yashasvi Jaiswal: 10/10
Rohit Sharma’s return to opening hasn’t hidden away the fact that he is in one of his worst batting phases. He has looked a shallow of a batter than he really is, putting forward a diffident personality. In the first innings, he got playing a nothing shot. Pat Cummins had his number on both the occasions in the Boxing Day Test, with Rohit making a combined 12 runs in the match. The second innings was of cast importance for him, with retirement buzz going around Rohit farely in the entire series. But he again threw the chance, playing a flick (non-commitedly).
On the contrary, Yashasvi Jaiswal was a star. He single-handedly kept India in the game in the second innings, forging a stand with Rishabh Pant and then with Washington Sundar. Even in the first innings, he played delightfully, hammering 82 before a mishap with Virat Kohli led him towards the pavilion via a runout.
KL Rahul: 2/10, Virat Kohli: 3/10
KL Rahul was demoted. He was farely India’s best batter throughout the first three games but Rohit’s return to the top moved KL to number three. It didn’t favour Rahul, who failed in both innings. He looked fine in the first before Pat Cummins bowled an absolute peach to rattle him. In the second innings, Rahul was done away with another jaffa by Cummins, who bowled a double wicket maiden to change the tide of the match. To be fair to KL Rahul, his slot was changed and it can sometimes hamper the flow of a batter.
Here comes Virat Kohli. He was among the news even before his chance came to bat. He shoulder-barged 19-year-old Sam Konstas and received massive flak from the pundits crowd, getting jeers as well. We all hoped that this would fire Kohli up. But he couldn’t translate in his batting. He started the match superbly, watching away the first hour or so without playing a dangerous shot. But the run-out of Jaiswal hampered him. He played a losing shot and got out for 36. In the second innings, he should be kicking himself. Moments before lunch break, Kohli went on to poke a sixth-stump line off Mitchell Starc.
Rishabh Pant: 2/10, Ravindra Jadeja: 1.5/10
Here come the two left-handers who could’ve bailed India out but couldn’t. One got some great deliveries, the other manufactured his wicket and gifted it to the hosts. Jaddu was playing well in the first innings but Nathan Lyon trapped him in front. Jadeja played 50 balls till then and was helping Nitish Reddy quite well. In the second innings, however, Scott reared one off-length that surprised everyone, taking Jaddu’s nick.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” cried Sunil Gavaskar when Pant scooped one towards the third man’s throat for a simple catch. He was playing well till then but his wicket derailed India. In the second innings, it looked as if Pant was redeeming himself quite superbly. He left needless ones, defending onto the body and played strokes rarely. But then again, he lost his cool. He tried to charge part-timer Travis Head and send one straight to Mitchell Marsh, who took two superb catches. While we talk about Rohit and Kohli’s awful series, Pant isn’t having a great one either. He has scored just 154 at an average of 22.00. He has got just 2/10 because of throwing his wicket away.
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Nitish Kumar Reddy 10/10, Washington Sundar 9/10
Here come two of India’s best batters. There were talks of either Nitish or Sundar getting dropped to favour Shubman Gill in the side. But Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma went with a “multi-faceted” strategy to give a struggling top-order a cushion. Nitish Kumar Reddy, fortunately, was the reason why the match went till Day 5 and India once had a chance of winning as well. The first innings was solely built on the back of Nitish, who lambasted Aussie bowlers with rather ease. He took some blows but the attacking mindset didn’t leave, with Lyon even facing enough trouble. Unluckily, it was Lyon who ended Reddy’s short stay in the second innings, with the Andhra player seemingly facing the mounting pressure.
Washington Sundar, meanwhile, is as talented as any batter. His batting has really outshown his bowling, which is a bittersweet thing for India. In the first innings, Sundar battled for 162 balls, with his performance going under the radar with Reddy’s ton. Sundar almost saved the match but sadly he remain stranded at one end.
| Player | 1st Innings | 2nd Innings | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma | 3 (5) | 9 (40) | 0/10 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 82 (118) | 84 (208) | 10/10 |
| KL Rahul | 24 (42) | 0 (5) | 2/10 |
| Virat Kohli | 36 (86) | 5 (29) | 3/10 |
| Rishabh Pant | 28 (37) | 30 (104) | 2/10 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 17 (51) | 2 (14) | 1.5/10 |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | 114 (189) | 1 (5) | 10/10 |
| Washington Sundar | 50 (162) | 5 (45) | 9/10 |
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