It seems the Test series Down Under is not going according to plan for Indian captain Rohit Sharma. While in his absence, Jasprit Bumrah led the Men in Blue to victory against Australia in Perth in the first clash of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, things have taken a drastic turn since the skipper rejoined the squad.
?After losing in Adelaide by 10 wickets, the Indian side somehow managed to draw the game at the Gabba¡ªthanks in part to persistent rain. However, in the 4th Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), things once again seem to be slipping away from Rohit Sharma, and fans have taken notice.
The controversy began at the toss. After losing it and being asked to bowl first, Rohit announced that the team had made one change¡ªShubman Gill was out, and Washington Sundar was in. While adding Sundar to the squad was widely regarded as a good move, dropping Gill raised eyebrows.?
Although not in his best form, Gill had still been relatively consistent with the bat.Fans could not believe Rohit would remove Gill just so he could bat higher up the order. Many took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to question this decision, with some even calling him "selfish."?
In addition to the selection decision, cricket fans questioned Rohit's tactics on the field as well. The team allowed Aussie debutant Sam Konstas to smash 60 off 65 balls, including six fours and two sixes.?
As the second session is in progress, the Indian side is still searching for wickets, allowing even the out-of-form Usman Khawaja to score a half-century. Khawaja formed a strong partnership with Marnus Labuschagne, with the duo regularly rotating the strike.?
At the time of writing, the hosts had scored 140 runs, losing just one wicket in 39 overs. Australia seems well on its way to winning this clash, potentially putting India out of the World Test Championship (WTC) race.?
Australia?(Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
India?(Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep
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