India vs Australia 1st Test – Who will open for India ?: Prithvi Shaw has lost his last chance to impress the Indian team management. Shaw failed to get going in the first two practice games and chances of him opening the Indian innings with Mayank Agarwal for the 1st Test against Australia in Adelaide on Thursday is all but over.
So who will open Indian innings in Adelaide?
In absence of Rohit Sharma, who will be unavailable for the first two Tests due to COVID-19 protocols, Shaw was supposedly the No.1 choice for the Ravi Shastri. But the youngster has probably fallen out of favour. He has scored just 62 runs in total, highest being 40 in the first innings of second tour game. Moreover, the 21-year-old has not looked comfortable on the Australian pitches so far.
However, Shaw being out of form has opened doors for Shuman Gill who has shown he is firmly in contention. The team management might look for a Mayank Agarwal-Gill partnership after the latter’s performance on Saturday. Both of them scored an impressive half-century in the second innings to propel India’s lead past 200 mark.
But Can Gill open the batting?
Ind vs Aus 1st Test: Shubman Gill as an opener
Gill plays as an opener for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy. He has scored 2,612 runs in 22 First-Class matches. Interestingly, the majority of his runs has come as an opener.
In the ongoing tour game in Sydney he played at No.3 because Shaw partnered with Agarwal at the top. However, his Under-19 teammate could not do much against the new ball and therefore Gill came to the crease early. In both the innings, the youngster picked up the new pink Kookaburra ball well. In the two innings, he scored 105 runs which includes his stylish fifty on Saturday.
Ind vs Aus 1st Test: Will Gill prove to be India’s trump card?
Gill is a mixed bag of caution and aggression. In the first innings against Australia A, he scored 43 off 58 balls, while in the second, he made 65 off 78 deliveries. His batting against the Australia A seamers on Saturday further at- tested his class, especially his ability to pick the right balls to hit and find the gaps.
His temperament in the game and changing gears at will is the reason he scores quickly without taking too much of risk. Gill’s game is tailor-made for Australian pitches. His back-foot stance, courtesy of his early cricketing years on concrete, is a big point against bouncy pitches of Down Under.
However, he might face some difficulty in Adelaide Oval, where the pitch favours more fuller length from pacers. This is where he might struggle a little. According to his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) coach, Abhishek Nayar, due to a predominant back-foot game, “leaning into drive does not come naturally”.
Ind vs Aus 1st Test: What are other opening options for India?
India might look for an experienced option and go for KL Rahul. The Karnataka-born had lost his place in Test team after a poor performance during the West Indies tour in 2019. However, his latest form with white-ball cricket has brought him back in contention in the longest form of the game. He has scored over 2,000 runs and has five centuries to his credit in Test. But the fact that he did was not given any time to get into the groove of red-ball game in Sydney makes his chances slim.
India plays Australia in 1st Test starting Thursday at 9:30 am. Watch it Live on Sony Sports and follow InsideSport.co for all Updates.