"Think Everyone Will Support...": Ex-India Star On KL Rahul Getting Dropped From 3rd Test

01.03.2023 - 09:29 sports.ndtv.com

With India 2-0 up in the series, captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted the bat against Australia in the third Test at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Wednesday.

The hosts made two changes, with out-of-form opener KL Rahul losing his place in the playing XI to youngster Shuman Gill. Rahul, who scored just 38 runs in the first two Tests of the series, has been under the scanner as several current and former players had questioned his place in the team.

After Rahul was dropped from the team, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar suggested that the team management made the right decision. "I was thinking whether the management will show courage and do the right thing with KL Rahul, who is a big name player and has played some important innings in the past.

I think everyone supports the decision, so well done," Manjrekar said after toss. As far as India's second change is concerned, veteran pacer Umesh Yadav replaced Mohammed Shami in the playing XI Australia, on the other hand, also made two changes to the side that lost the second Test by six wickets in New Delhi, bringing in pace-bowling stalwart Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green in place of Pat Cummins and David Warner, who have both returned home.

cricket Australia Cricket Team 2023 Test on David Warner Pat Cummins Cameron Green Nathan Lyon Alex Carey Mitchell Starc Steve Smith Rohit Sharma Steven Smith Marnus Labuschagne Peter Handscomb Matthew Kuhnemann Todd Murphy Australia India county Smith parish Cameron county Green New Delhi Sanjay

The second ODI between India and Australia turned out to be yet another disappointing show from Suryakumar Yadav as the star batter once again got dismissed for a golden duck. In both the matches, it was pacer Mitchell Starc, who got the precious wicket of Surya on the very first delivery. As the powerful T20I batter failed to open his run-tally in both matches, some questions have been raised regarding his spot in the team for the upcoming ODI World Cup. However, veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik backed Suryakumar and came up with an interesting suggestion for the Team management regarding him.

Virat Kohli "Will Have To...": Ex-Pakistan Star Warns Of This Pace Threat In WTC Final

Australia left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc was all over India's top-order in the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday. Starc returned figures of 3/49, dismissing Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav off consecutive deliveries. Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria highlighted Kohli's dismissal off Starc's delivery, and fired a warning bell for the star batter. Kaneria suggested that Kohli's struggles against left-arm pacers could haunt him at the World Test Championship (WTC) final, where India are scheduled to play Australia in June.

"Will Bring Back Interest In ODIs": Ex-India Star's Massive Take On Hardik Pandya's Captaincy

With the advent of T20 cricket, longer-format games have been fighting hard for their survival. While the Test cricket has seen a revival of late, it is the ODI format that finds itself in danger. Amid the ongoing discussions about the future of the 50-over format, former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja feels that aggresive style of captaincy that Hardik Pandya does would bring the interest of the fans back in the format. Notably, Hardik led India for time in an ODI during a match against Australia in Mumbai on Friday. The hosts won the game by 5 wickets.

India's Predicted XI vs Australia, 1st ODI: With Ishan Kishan And Shubman Gill Confirmed, Will KL Rahul Get A Chance?

After clinching the four-match Test series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia 2-1, Team India is all set to face the same opponents again in a three-match ODI series. The first match of the series will be played on Friday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. As skipper Rohit Sharma will be unavailable for the first match due to his family commitments, all-rounder Hardik Pandya will be donning the skipper's cap. Team India's last outing in the 50-over format was against New Zealand, where they clinched a 3-0 clean sweep. As the first ODI against Australia is just about to begin in less than 24 hours from now, it will be interesting to see that who will be getting a place in the playing XI.

"Was Carrying Hangover": Ex-India Star Critical Of Rohit Sharma And Co After Indore Test Loss

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar feels that the Indian team lost the third Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia as it was in the hangover of its dominance in the series by then. It is worth noting that the Indian team outplayed the guests in the first two Tests of the four-match series. The Rohit Sharma-led side won the first game by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur before it registered a 6-wicket victory in New Delhi. However, Australia bounced back in the third game and defeated India by 9 wickets in Indore.

Watch: Australia Fan's "Jhukega Nahi" Celebration Goes Viral After 3rd Test Win

After facing consecutive losses in the first two matches, Australia finally took a sigh of relief last week, thrashing India in the third Test by nine wickets. After bundling out India for just 163 runs, the visitors had a target of 76 runs which they chased down in just few hours of Day 3 at a loss of one wicket. The 78-run partnership between Travis Head (49*) and Marnus Labuschagne (28*) gave Australia a big win. As The Steve Smith-led side had a great outing on the field, the fans also could not hide their excitement at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.