3 areas of concern for India following their draw in the 3rd BGT 2024/25 Test ft. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's form
India managed to cling on to a draw in the third Test against Australia but it wasn't a convincing performance. Rohit Sharma and Co. were outplayed for large parts of the contest, and if not for rain, they would've likely been handed a drubbing at the Gabba.
Heading into the crunch part of the series with high-profile encounters in Melbourne and Sydney on the horizon, the visitors will need to have a long period of introspection. The wheels aren't turning too smoothly on multiple fronts right now and plenty of questions are worth pondering.
On that note, here are three major areas of concern for India following their draw in the third Test against Australia.
#3 India's senior batters still aren't stepping up
Shubman Gill hasn't been able to produce an overseas score of note since his stellar 91 at the Gabba in India's last tour of Australia. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are clearly far from their best right now with clear issues against seam and swing even in the middle order.
Some of India's senior Test batters haven't been able to produce the goods so far. Even as KL Rahul has seemed assured at the top of the order, Kohli and Rohit haven't given him any support. More concerningly, the manner of the duo's dismissals has been all too predictable.
This isn't a flash in the pan. Kohli has been off color for nearly half a decade now, while Rohit seems to be dealing with the effects of an age-related decline. India will need to do some serious thinking on how to get the best out of their experienced duo in the remainder of the series.
#2 Rishabh Pant is yet to cross the 40-run mark in the series
Rishabh Pant is arguably India's best Test batter. He has regularly played high-impact knocks in a variety of conditions and he has almost single-handedly won the team plenty of matches on either side of his injury.
However, Pant hasn't been at his best Down Under. He is yet to cross the 40-run mark in the series so far, and more importantly, the Aussie bowlers seem to have found a way to contain his aggression.
Pat Cummins and his fellow pacers have attempted to angle the ball across Pant which has proven to be challenging for the southpaw. He has briefly attempted to hit his way out of trouble, but a few nicks behind the stumps will have dented his confidence at least slightly.
Pant needs to find a way to counter the Aussies' bowling plans. While his form isn't a concern as such, India will want their star man to return to his swashbuckling best before the series slips away.
#1 4th and 5th bowlers are an issue for India
The Brisbane Test saw Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja take to the field as India's fourth and fifth bowlers, respectively. Once Mohammed Siraj went down with a niggle and Australia put together a mammoth partnership through Travis Head and Steve Smith, India were heavily dependent on their supporting bowlers to step up.
However, Reddy and Jadeja weren't as penetrative as the visitors would've liked. While the fast-bowling all-rounder bowled only 13 overs, the left-arm spinner leaked nearly 100 runs in the 23 overs he sent down without picking up a wicket.
In Melbourne and Sydney, India will need a solid bowling attack without any weak links. They might have to play a fourth specialist seamer or maybe even bring in Washington Sundar as a second spinner who can lengthen the batting. This difficult selection dilemma will likely have the think tank bashing their brains.