Should Virat Kohli Play Mayank Agarwal in Third Test Against Australia? Openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay’s Poor Form Has Left Indian Fans Wondering!

Who should India open with, in the crucial third Test match against Australia in Melbourne, which will start in a week? is a question every Indian fan is asking at the moment. Given that KL Rahul and Murali Vijay are in terrible form, Virat Kohli would be scratching his head over the same question. Both Vijay and Rahul have underperformed so far, which has put India in a weakened position.

In the first Test match at the Adelaide Oval, KL was dismissed for 2 and 44 in respective innings. In the next game at Perth Stadium, he was back in the hut after getting out on 2 and a duck. On the other hand, Murali Vijay got out scoring 11 and 18 in the first game. In the second contest, he was dismissed for a duck too; however, he survived enough to score 20 runs in the second innings.

KL Rahul is getting dismissed in a similar pattern for a long time now. Murali Vijay, who scored a century in the tour match against Cricket Australia XI, has not been able to live to the expectations one has from an opener. The manner in which the duo have played in the series has been alarming for India, as the opening partnership’s contribution to the total has been dismal so far, except for the second innings in the Adelaide Test.

The first-wicket partnership has scored 3, 63, 6, and 0 in the four innings, so far. Comparing it to a less-experienced Australia’s opening pair (of Marcus Harris and Aaron Finch), the Aussie duo has been relatively better scoring 0, 28, 112, and 59. A clear indication of how Australia has trumped in this area.

After Prithvi Shaw was ruled out of the remainder of the Test series Down Under, Mayank Agarwal was named as his replacement. It will be only fitting for the Indian team management to give young Mayank Agarwal a chance heading into the third Test match at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Yes, there will be a huge risk in letting the 27-year-old debut as an opener in a crucial Test against Australia at the MCG. But given how the first choice players are performing at the moment, it can’t get worse than how things are at the moment.

Mayank Agarwal is coming off a superb domestic season and would be itching to grab whatever opportunities are thrown in his way. Which player between Murali Vijay or KL Rahul should face the axe in the Boxing Day Test can be a different question altogether. However, Mayank Agarwal deserves a place in India’s playing XI in the third Test match!

India won the first Test match by 31 runs, and Australia levelled the 4-match series in Perth, after winning it by 146 runs. With the series’ score 1-1 already, it will be interesting to see what amends does India makes to increase their chances of winning their maiden series’ win in Australia. Stay tuned with us for all the latest updates about India vs Australia 2018-19 Test Series.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 20, 2018 09:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).