Australia vs India 2018-19: Has Rahul done enough in the second innings to hold on to his spot?
KL Rahul came into the second innings of the Adelaide Test with a big question mark over his position at the top of the order, after yet another failure in the first innings. In the second innings, he scored 44 and put together an important fifty-run opening partnership with Murali Vijay.
The question on everyone’s mind is: Has Rahul done enough to hold on to his position in the second innings? The answer is a guarded ‘yes’, and certainly not an emphatic one.
The manner of his dismissal was especially disappointing. He got out to an expansive drive on the up to a ball he could have easily left out. He had just lost his opening partner and needed to rebuild Indian innings in the company of Pujara. Moreover, thanks to DRS, he had escaped being out in the previous year.
In the context of this match, his contribution could still prove invaluable. But his manner of dismissal will raise questions about his ability to read match situations and play accordingly.
But thanks to this innings, he has probably again just about held on to his spot in the playing eleven. But if Prithvi Shaw is fit for the second Test, then the Indian think tank must consider dropping him in favour of Murali Vijay.
Though Vijay too has done himself no favour by playing two excruciatingly horrible shots outside the off stump, yet his outstanding record during India’s previous tour to Australia and his usual composure at the crease should keep him in the playing eleven. However, their individual performances in the second Test will be under the scanner.
Prithvi Shaw, in all likelihood, will be fit for the third Test and will be a certainty in the playing eleven. Since neither Rahul nor Vijay have done anything substantial in the first Test, the one who performs better in the second Test will be the one to partner Shaw in the third Test.