Australia vs India 2018-19: 2 factors that could be stumbling blocks for India at Melbourne
India suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Australians earlier today as the visitors lost their remaining 5 wickets within the first session of the fifth day's play.
Chasing 287 to win the second Test, India got off to a poor start, losing the out of form KL Rahul for 0 in the very first over. Cheteshwar Pujara followed soon after he nicked an unplayable delivery from Josh Hazlewood.
Skipper Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay tried to steady the ship but couldn't counter Nathan Lyon's brilliance with the ball, who accounted for both the dismissals. India never looked in shape to achieve the target, and it was just a matter of time before the innings got wrapped up.
India were all out for 140, thus losing the game by 146 runs.
The series is now leveled at 1-1 with all to play for at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is set to host the 3rd Test match starting on Boxing day. Team India have plenty to ponder going ahead into that match, and it is expected that there would be plenty of changes in the playing XI.
In this article, we will take look at two factors that might prevent India from winning the 3rd Test at the MCG.
#1 The opening slot is a huge concern
K.L Rahul and Murali Vijay have been in terrible form, and looked completely out of sorts in both the Test matches. Rahul had scores of 2 and 44 in the first match, while Vijay had scores of 11 and 18.
A similar story repeated in the 2nd Test as Rahul had scores of 2 and 0 in both the innings, while Vijay had scores of 0 and 20.
With the openers failing in both the Test matches, one of them is surely expected to be dropped, if not both of them. But with Prithvi Shaw ruled out for remainder of the series, there is a big question mark over who will take over the responsibility.
There are chances of Mayank Agarwal getting roped in as an opener for the 3rd Test. Agarwal has had a great domestic season but he is untested in foreign conditions and against a tough bowling attack and on a bouncy pitch at the MCG, it would be an extremely daunting task for the Karnataka batsman to immediately come good.
Hence, the opening slot is still a huge area of concern for the Indian team, and at this point of time they can only hope for a strong turnaround in the 3rd Test.
#2 Team India's record at the MCG
Australia and India have clashed against each other on 12 occasions at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. The first match between the two teams played at this ground dates back to 1 January 1948, which Australia won by 233 runs.
In 12 Tests on this ground, India have lost eight and won only two. The two wins came in 1977 and 1981 under the leadership of Bishen Bedi and Sunil Gavaskar respectively.
Since the win in 1981, India have lost five matches and drawn two. The last encounter between the two teams at this venue was four years ago, which ended in a draw thanks to Virat Kohli, who scored a brilliant 169, and Ajinkya Rahane who scored 147.
The pitch at MCG is expected to have good bounce and will likely assist the fast bowlers. With a weak opening slot and fragile lower order batsmen, India are bound to face difficulties in the third Test with regards to their batting. Moreover, the old memories and dismal past record at the MCG may also haunt Team India.