Australia vs India 2018-19: 3 reasons why Ravindra Jadeja should open the innings in Perth
The much awaited India vs Australia Test series got underway from the 6th of December in Adelaide. The Indians are now 1-0 up in the series, and go into the second Test match at Perth full of confidence.
The first match was a great contest, where both the teams were engaged in a seesaw battle. In the end the Indian team came out victorious, with a narrow 31 run win.
If the Indian team is able to win the Perth Test and go 2-0 up, they will retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy which they won after beating Australia by a 2-1 margin in 2016-17.
However, due to injuries to R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma, India will not be able to field an unchanged playing XI in Perth. The 13 member squad that the team management has declared for this Test match is as follows:
Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane (vc), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravi Jadeja, Hanuma Vihari, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The playing XI is not decided yet. In this article, we will look at three reasons why going with Ravindra Jadeja as an opener could be a good option.
#1: Left hand right hand combination
As Murali Vijay has been underperforming in away Test matches lately, it is high time India started looking beyond him. Prithvi Shaw is not fit yet and Rohit Sharma is also injured, so India have no other openers left in their squad.
In such a situation, replacing the out-of-form Vijay with Jadeja could be something worth considering. It will provide a left hand-right hand combination at the top, and thus cause difficulty to the opposition bowlers.
#2: Allowing India to play five bowlers
If Jadeja opens, then India can play with five bowlers without disturbing their middle order. On the pacer friendly Perth wicket, Bhuvneshwar Kumar can also be included in the playing XI.
This will strengthen the bowling lineup substantially, without weakening the batting lineup too much.
#3: Quick runs at the start
KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja are both attacking batsmen. So if they can put up a partnership, then they will score runs quickly for sure.
This will help India put up runs on the board quickly, and have more time on their hands to get the 20 Australian wickets and win the Test match.