Melbourne, December 29: Team India have registered a comprehensive 8-wicket victory over Australia in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Tuesday (December 29).
Stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane was adjudged player of the match for his knocks of 112 and 27* and leading the team from the front. Rahane's century in the first innings and his valuable partnerships with Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja ensured India post 326 runs in the first innings and take a vital 131-run lead.
The win at Melbourne is special as it came in the absence of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma. While Shami and Ishant are injured, Kohli returned home on paternity leave. Rohit, on the other hand, was in quarantine in Sydney due to COVID-19 protocols in the country. However, the right-handed batsman's self-isolation ends today and he'll be able to join his teammates on Wednesday (December 30).
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At the post-match presentation, stand-in captain Rahane said that team and Rohit both are excited about the senior cricketer joining the squad.
"We're excited about Rohit coming back. Spoke to him yesterday, he's waiting to join the team," Rahane told after the win.
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Rohit will therefore be available for selection in the third Test match which starts January 7 and with that also comes a selection headache for the Indian team management. It will be interesting to see who will make way for Rohit from the winning side that India fielded in Melbourne.
Experts also believe that Rohit will certainly make an entry in the side but are divided upon whom the Mumbaikar is going to replace.
According to former India captain and legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar, Rohit will either replace out of form opener Mayank Agarwal or middle-order batsman Hanuma Vihari. Gavaskar opined that Rohit should open the innings for India in the third Test and in that case Agarwal, who has scored 17, 9, 0, 5 in the first two games and backed young Shubman Gill as Rohit's opening partner. And if team management wishes to give the Karnataka batsman a longer rope then he could open along with Rohit, in such a scenario Gill can be asked to bat at No. 5 and Vihari gets benched.
However, former India cricketers Zaheer Khan and Ajay Jadeja - while speaking at Sony Sports and Pictures Network - suggested the team management should stick with both Agarwal and Vihari to show confidence in them. Instead, they suggested if condition at Sydney allows then India should bring Rohit in place of injured Umesh Yadav - who was part of the Playing XI in the second Test. Umesh was ruled out of the match after suffering an injury in the second innings. According to Zaheer, India can go with the option of four bowlers i.e. R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah.