Adelaide [Australia], December 5: India’s captain Rohit Sharma confirmed on Thursday that KL Rahul will open the batting in the upcoming Adelaide Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. This decision means that Rohit Sharma will move to the middle order, despite his impressive performances as an opener in recent Test matches.
For KL Rahul, this is a significant vote of confidence in his abilities, especially after his outstanding performance in the Perth Test. In that match, Rahul played a crucial knock of 77 runs from 176 balls, which included five boundaries. Along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, he formed a record-breaking opening partnership of 201 runs for the first wicket in the first Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Optus Stadium in Perth.
At the pre-match press conference, Rohit Sharma confirmed the batting order, stating, “He’ll be opening the batting; I’ll bat somewhere in the middle,” referring to Rahul’s role at the top of the order and his own shift to the middle.
KL Rahul made his Test debut against Australia in 2014 and has since appeared in 54 Test matches, scoring 3084 runs at an average of 34.26 and a strike rate of 52.56.
India is currently 1-0 up in the series after their massive 295-run victory in Perth. The second Test will be a day-night format match in Adelaide, starting Friday.
On the Australian side, pacer Scott Boland has been added to the playing XI, replacing the injured Josh Hazlewood. This will be Boland’s first Test for Australia in 18 months. Skipper Pat Cummins also confirmed that Mitchell Marsh will be fit to bowl in the Adelaide Test. Boland’s previous Test appearance was against England in the Ashes 2023 series.
Australia’s Playing XI for the Second Test: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland.