India skipper Rohit Sharma is set to make his comeback after missing the opening Test in Perth against Australia. Notably, the visitors won the first Test of the five-match series by 295 runs under Jasprit Bumrah‘s captaincy. For the unversed, Rohit stayed back in India for the birth of his second child and is now set to turn albeit, not as an opener. In the pre-match press conference, he confirmed that the opening duo of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal will continue for the pink-ball Test in Adelaide.
The duo did well blunting the Aussie attack in the second innings at the Optus Stadium adding a staggering 201 runs for the first wicket. Jaiswal smashed 161 runs while Rahul mustered 77 runs. In fact, the latter was also impressive in the first innings facing 74 balls for his 26 runs. They kept the Aussie bowling at bay for 63 overs and team India are not willing to change the opening duo after such a terrific performance.
Rohit Sharma has confirmed that he will bat ‘somewhere in the middle’ and that Rahul will continue to open alongside Jaiswal. Interestingly, this will be the first time that the 37-year-old will bat in the middle-order since 2019. He started opening in Tests in October 2019 and his last outing in the middle-order was in Australia in December 2018 during the Melbourne Test.
“KL Rahul will open and I will bat somewhere in the middle. The way KL batted, I was watching from home with a new-born baby in arms, he played brilliantly so there is no need to change now, things might be different in future – the way KL bats in overseas, so he deserves that spot at this point of time,” Rohit said.
Rohit Sharma’s record at number five and six in Test cricket
| Batting position | Innings | Runs | Average | 50s/100s |
| 5 | 16 | 437 | 29.13 | 3/0 |
| 6 | 25 | 1037 | 54.57 | 6/3 |
While batting at number six, Rohit Sharma has scored 1037 runs at an average of 54.57 with three centuries and six fifties. He is not new to this role and given his great record, it is not a bad idea for the Indian captain to move down looking at his recent form in the format. Rohit played more than 20 balls in last 10 innings only once in the longest format.
