[snaseer]

Will be career saving Innings for Vijay if he plays one. He and Pujara have to get a good partnership here.

[Oxy]

13/2 chasing 287. Rahul and Pujara gone.

Game pretty much done.

[landcruiser123]

KL Rahul seems hellbent on making way for Prithvi Shaw. With Pujara gone, this is Vijay's best chance.

If the total was 250, I'd give India a greater chance that the 387 vs England in Chennai. But this total seems a long ask and two wickets down doesn't look good at all.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by rovingeye

Can we now get rid of Rahul.

This bloke evokes the worst kind of emotions in my mind as a spectator.

Send him to a shrink, he has been totally spoilt by Kohli.

[hemanth.anand]

Kohli gone and with that the match.
For the Boxing day test, lets drop the openers and replace them with Pandya brothers

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Kohli gone and with that the match.
For the Boxing day test, lets drop the openers and replace them with Pandya brothers

Hardik has scored a 70+ and taken 5 wickets in an innings on his Ranji return, so you never know

[NPV]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

The match was gone when we gave them a 50 run lead and they got to 30 odd for no loss. Batting last on this surface, with Lyon bowling so well and the long Indian tail, anything more than 150 looks almost impossible.

Absolutely agree with you - reading/speculation of the nature of the pitch was wrong and we got the selection wrong, even just Jadeja in place of Umesh Yadav may have made a significant difference.

After seeing the way the pitch was behaving and also given that we really have just 7 wickets to be considered all out (team selection ), I know that chasing anything in the 4th innings that is 200+ on this wicket is going to be almost impossible, but that selfish Indian fan inside me did not want to sound pessimistic nor be optimistic (more disappointment if it turns out negative!), I just chose sound a bit neutral

Ok, so what next once the series is leveled 1-1 tomorrow ?
Openers - Vijay is likely to be dropped for the next test, but will Shaw recover in time ? There is no other opener to replace Rahul with, so he is likely to continue (will Shikhar Dhawan be flown in ? Kohli will have the last laugh if it happens). During yesterday's commentary, Gavaskar said we should have gone with 4 openers in the squad!

EDIT:looks like Shaw is out of entire test series and Mayank Agarwal will be replacing him. So it's most likely Mayank & Rahul to open in next test.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by NPV

Openers - Vijay is likely to be dropped for the next test, but will Shaw recover in time ? There is no other opener to replace Rahul with, so he is likely to continue (will Shikhar Dhawan be flown in ? Kohli will have the last laugh if it happens). During yesterday's commentary, Gavaskar said we should have gone with 4 openers in the squad!

There is little to choose between the two but I would drop Rahul instead of Vijay

[PPS]

Hardik Pandya has also been added to the squad for the remaining 2 tests on the basis of 1 Ranji game. There will be a temptation to include him in the XI which will further weaken our batting & there's a possibility a decent batsman like Vihari will have to sit out!

If this happens, we are well on course to lose 1 more away series. Happy for Mayank Agarwal as he finally gets into the squad.

[avingodb]

That shot by Rahane!

and now with Shaw being ruled out of the remaining series its a choice between devil and deep sea!

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by PPS

If this happens, we are well on course to lose 1 more away series. Happy for Mayank Agarwal as he finally gets into the squad.

Question is- Mayank an opening batsman? I don't think we have an option there now that Shaw is injured.

[Chetan_Rao]

Very unfortunate for Shaw, could've been his breakthrough into the senior side. Australia tours don't come around all the time either, valuable experience gone begging.

[searacer932]

KL Rahul and Murali Vijay are free vouchers to opposition bowlers.

Pujara comes at 3/1 and Kohli comes at 8/2. In this state this would be my team for the next test match.

1. Mayank Agarwal
2. Pujara (remember there is no difference between 0/0 and 3/1)
3. Kohli (Again no difference between 8/2 and even 0/1)
4. Rahane
5. Vihari
6. Rohit (if he is fit) or Pandya (if Rohit is unfit)
7. Pant
8. Ashwin
9. Ishant
10. Bumrah
11. Shami

If Agarwal or Rohit/Pandya score it's anyway a bonus. Even if they don't score there is no loss as well as KL Rahul and Murali Vijay wouldn't have scored anyway!

[pratyush6]

Frankly, I cannot look past how bad this team is on the field with their behavior. It was nauseating to see Kohli and his boys acting like school kids. This is exactly we did when we were immature, I think even we outgrew it by the time we were in college.

Again and again, this team deserves to be taught a lesson on the field. I was rooting for the Aussies. And to even think that Aussies can be better on the field than any team out there is unthinkable, but this Indian team has done it.

This team will lose and have its tail, tucked right where it belongs. To hell with whoever is fit or isn't, this team deserves to lose.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by searacer932

KL Rahul and Murali Vijay are free vouchers to opposition bowlers.

Pujara comes at 3/1 and Kohli comes at 8/2. In this state this would be my team for the next test match.

1. Mayank Agarwal
2. Pujara (remember there is no difference between 0/0 and 3/1)
3. Kohli (Again no difference between 8/2 and even 0/1)
4. Rahane
5. Vihari
6. Rohit (if he is fit) or Pandya (if Rohit is unfit)
7. Pant
8. Ashwin
9. Ishant
10. Bumrah
11. Shami

If Agarwal or Rohit/Pandya score it's anyway a bonus. Even if they don't score there is no loss as well as KL Rahul and Murali Vijay wouldn't have scored anyway!

Exactly my thoughts.
Even Parthiv can open and I am sure he will do much better than current openers. But, if we want to accommodate both Vihari and Pandya then Pujara needs to open. In any case he played the 4th ball of the innings today.

As for this test it's done and dusted. Moment lead crossed 200 it would have been a miracle we could chase it with these set of openers and non existent tail.