Agnijit Sen in Melbourne
You couldn’t have asked for a better showdown! Second-highest attended Boxing Day Test ever, according to ticket sales. A packed MCG, series 1-1 and two teams in the ‘boxing ring’, ready to throw punches and counter-punches at each other. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy has entered the business end. Australia seem settled with their playing XI with a couple of changes. The same might not be true for India. While the top six pick themselves, No. 7 and 8 remain a question.
Well, let’s rephrase. Not No. 7. Not after Ravindra Jadeja’s batting exploits in the Gabba Test. Not after his partnership with Ajinkya Rahane the last time these two teams met at the MCG. Jadeja has looked assured in the last match. His footwork swift, sense of judgement immaculate and he has been doing this time and again for India when it comes to overseas conditions. So, the question is who makes the cut for the No. 8 position?
Nitish Kumar Reddy has hardly put a foot wrong in the ongoing series. Picked as the fourth seamer, he has given this fragile Indian batting line-up the much needed depth. A tally of 179 runs from five innings at an average of 44.75 doesn’t fully speak about his impact he has had though. India somehow limped to 150 in the first innings in Perth because of his batting. You may argue and say that he has mostly batted with the tail, when almost nothing was at stake. He could play his natural game. Then, what about Brisbane? Coming in after KL Rahul was dismissed, he survived more than 60 balls, stitching a crucial partnership with Jadeja. His medium pace has proved to be a value addition. He sent back Mitchell Marsh in the second innings in Perth to open the floodgates for India. Reddy has certainly looked like he belongs.
Now, what about Washington Sundar? He in Border-GavaskarTrophy in 2021, became a forgotten man, made a comeback against New Zealand and picked up 13 wickets in his on his comeback. A raging turner helped, but Washington impressed further in the next Test in Mumbai.
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Washington played the first game in Perth. He looked assured with the bat, bowled tidy off-spinners but had to make way for India’s No. 1 tweaker Ravichandran Ashwin in Adelaide. Similarly, in Brisbane, India picked a better batsman than him in Jadeja. And now, the Boxing Day Test is here.
Last couple of times, India played at this venue and won. On both occasions, Ashwin and Jadeja were in the playing XI. Now, with Ashwin calling it a day, will India play two spinners or go with Reddy and Jadeja?
Washington likes to play cricket in Australia. And he will always have the Gabba in 2020-21 to fall back on. With India staring down the barrel at 186-6 in their first innings in that game, Washington and Shardul Thakur came together to stitch a game-turning partnership. Washington was eventually dismissed for 62 with India on 328-8. In the first innings, he rolled his arm over for 31 overs and picked up the wickets of Steve Smith, Cameron Green and Nathan Lyon. Even in the second innings, he played an extremely handy cameo. However, his efforts got drowned by Rishabh Pant’s freakish batting display.
Now, here is a question. In the press conference leading up to the Boxing Day Test, Rohit Sharma mentioned that Tanush Kotian has been added to the squad as a spin reserve. If you need spin back-ups for the final two Tests, why did you let your No. 1 spinner, Ashwin, retire? Rohit even said in Ashwin’s retirement press conference that he requested the bowler to stay back for the last two Tests. With the India captain clearly stating his preference, the burning question remains. Why did Ashwin retire mid-series?
If both Washington and Jadeja make the playing XI for the Boxing Day Test, which seems a real possibility, going by how the MCG pitch traditionally plays, the Indian team management would hope that they would make valuable contributions to complement the seamers.
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