Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has proposed another tweak to India’s batting order ahead of the final day of the fourth Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) at the MCG. He suggests KL Rahul should resume opening duties, with skipper Rohit Sharma moving to the one-down position. The goal? Boost India’s confidence in what will be a series-defining chase for the visitors.
The Indian team’s constant reshuffling of the top order has yet to yield consistent results. KL Rahul opened in Perth when Rohit was unavailable, but upon Rohit’s return, the batting lineup underwent multiple shifts. At the MCG, Rohit failed to deliver again, prompting Manjrekar’s recommendation for a more stable order of Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
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“Ideally, you would want KL Rahul back at the top because it’s important to have an opening start,” Manjrekar explained on Star Sports. “Rahul at the top restores a little more confidence, and it’s been a successful opening pair. No.3 for Rohit may not be too different from batting at the top.”
Rahul has been a standout performer, scoring 259 runs at an average of 43.17. His adaptability to challenging conditions in Perth and Brisbane has been key for India. Undoubtedly, alongside Nitish Kumar Reddy, KL Rahul has been India’s best batter in this series. This is fascinating to witness, given that in the last home series, Rahul was dropped in favour of Sarfaraz Khan.
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Beyond the top-order changes, Manjrekar emphasised the importance of India’s lower-order resilience. Players like Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Reddy, and Sundar could prove vital on a wearing pitch. “But the real dangerman apart from the top four are people like Pant, who is used to playing a great innings. As the Kookaburra ball gets soft, you have got three guys Australia will find it tough to get out — Jadeja, Reddy and Sundar. With the Indian batting running deep and with a soft Kookaburra ball, Australia will have to bowl really well to clean up the entire Indian batting lineup,” he added.
India’s deep batting lineup has been instrumental in frustrating Australian bowlers in the past. Think of how Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah avoided a follow-on in Brisbane. Don’t look too far, with Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar forging a match-changing 127-run stand in the first innings of the ongoing Test. With a Test-record chase looming and Australia leading by 333 runs, India’s lower-order contributions could be decisive in shaping the outcome on the fifth day.
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