Australia vs India 2018-19: India's predicted XI for the Boxing Day Test
Having won the first Test at the Adelaide Oval, India lost their way in the second Test as they had to face the defeat by a hefty margin of 146 runs. With this win, Australia registered their first win of series as well as their first win at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Interestingly, this win also came as Australia's first win in Tests after the ball-tampering saga which translates to the Paine's first win as an Australian captain as well.
Each Australian member contributed his bit to Australia's historic win at the Optus Stadium. Australia dominated from the word go and got hold of the crunch moments in the game. On the other hand, the Indian team considerably struggled in their batting department as the openers once again failed to provide India with a good start. No-show from Rahul and Vijay put a lot of burden on the Indian middle-order, especially on Virat.
Hence, before the third Test which is set to commence from 26 December, India will have a lot of problems to address in a bid to go 2-1 up in the series. The Indian team is envisioned to make a lot of changes for the Boxing Day Test at MCG.
Thus, let us look at India's predicted XI for the third Test which is slated to take place at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Mayank Agarwal
The Indian opening department looks far from the best. KL Rahul and Murali Vijay have failed to render the Indian team with a solid start more often than not which has cost the team dearer than does petrol to a common-man today. Besides that, Prithvi Shaw's injury has only deteriorated the situation.
With Shaw already ruled out of the Test series, Mayank Agarwal, the former's replacement, will be a definite addition to India's playing XI for the third Test. The Karnataka batsman is expected to replace his state-mate, KL Rahul, for the third Test.
Rahul looked out of sorts in the second Test as he failed to defend his stumps in both the innings. Barring a gritty 44 in the second innings of the first Test, KL hasn't had much at this tour. Hence, Mayank's way into the playing XI for the third Test.
Mayank has been knocking the Indian doors for quite a time now, and this seems to be a perfect time to hand the right-handed batsman his first Test cap.
Hanuma Vihari
Alongside Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari is said to come in as the second opener for the third Test. It calls for a surprising decision, but the news from the dressing room is Vihari could well get a chance to open in the next Test. Murali Vijay hasn't reaped the results for India and promoting Vihari to open the innings will solve India's lot of problems at one go.
Vihari's way into the opening department will hand the team management a chance to play an extra player in the lower middle-order side by side adding some strength to the opening department. Besides, Hanuma's sacrosanct defensive technique adds some weight to the argument.