The fascinating subplots over Rohit Sharma’s batting position will remain in the build-up to the third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series after a double failure in Adelaide. Cricket greats Sunil Gavaskar and Matthew Hayden were at loggerheads over whether the India captain should return as opener in the third Test match in Brisbane, slated to begin on Saturday, but the Aussie suffered a major fumble on live TV, leaving the Indian in splits.
Rohit, who missed the opening Test in Perth, decided to bat at No. 6 for India in Adelaide to allow KL Rahul, who had found his groove as an opener in first Test, to carry his form at the top of the order. But the decision came at a cost. The 37-year-old managed just nine runs across the two innings, adding to his ongoing woeful run in the format since September, leaving experts worried.
Speaking to Star Sports after the second Test, Gavaskar said that he wanted Rohit to open in the Gabba Test, hoping that it could give India a promising start, while Rahul could bat at No. 6 with the responsibility of tackling the second new ball.
“I think he should come back to opening for the next Test because he likes the ball to come onto the bat. This innings, one can understand, because he hadn’t played for a while, and Rahul and Jaiswal had a 200-run partnership in the previous game. But Rahul can come down the order and face the second new ball. I’m being optimistic that India will bat so well in the next game that Rahul will take care of the second new ball,” he said.
Hayden disagreed with Gavaskar and reckoned India should not make a hasty change following the defeat in Adelaide as he backed the “technically-sound” Rahul to continue as opener. However, he fumbled as said “Rahul Dravid” instead of “KL Rahul.”
He said: “I’ll be slightly more stubborn. I will not be changing at this stage. I know you would like a better outcome inside the top three. But from what I saw in Perth, technically, Rahul Dravid is right there. He just needs to do it for a longer.”
Gavaskar waited for Hayden to complete his statement and then taunted the Aussie saying, “I would love it if it was Rahul Dravid, as you said, but it is KL Rahul.”
The former Australia batter could not stop laughing as he apologised, before admitting that Dravid’s double century at the Adelaide Oval still haunts him.
“Sorry, KL Rahul. My apologies. I was thinking of when he dominated here in Adelaide and got us smashed in 2003/04 series. That’s a nightmare I’m stull living,” he said.
Do you remember Dravid’s match-winning 233?
Dravid’s 12-and-a-half-hour epic came almost two decades back, during India’s 2003/04 tour of Australia, in response to a mighty first-innings total of 556 from Australia, where Ricky Ponting scored 242 off 353. Unlike Ponting, Dravid had found an able assistance from VVS Laxman, as the pair served a sharp reminder of the Eden Gardens classic from two years back.
The India No. 3 smashed 23 boundaries and a solitary six in his 446-ball knock, and laced a record 303-run stand for the fifth wicket as the tourists amassed 523 runs in the first innings of the second Test. Dravid followed up the double century with an unbeaten 72 in the second innings as India chased down the target of 230 to script their first win in Australia since 1981. It was also the fourth time they had won a Test match in Australia.
