IND vs AUS: India Ponder Extra Spinner For Boxing Day Test!

India

As has been the case throughout this series, we head into a Test with a lot of intrigue surrounding the make-up of the Indian team, not just in terms of who’ll play but also where they’ll bat. While Rohit Sharma was non-committal when asked about whether he’ll be sticking to the middle-order, new reports have emerged about the captain potentially returning to the top with KL Rahul dropping a position to No 3. There’s also been talk of two spinners playing, which could either mean Washington Sundar coming in for Nitish Kumar Reddy or even Shubman Gill, who’s not got going so far in this series after missing the first Test in Perth. We’ll find out soon enough either way.

And then, Travis Head walked out to bat at the MCG on Christmas morning. Pretty late on Christmas morning at that. The entire media pack had been waiting for him to do so. That was after all the final piece of the Australian team puzzle. Sam Konstas had already been revealed as a teenaged Test debutant for Boxing Day. Scott Boland had already been revealed to be Josh Hazlewood’s replacement at the MCG.

But following Andrew McDonald’s admission that the key batter in the Australian ranks was being bothered by a quad strain a day earlier, all eyes were on whether Head would get into the net for a hit. And a sigh of relief when he did, even if he looked more than bemused by all the attention. Once Head was done making an appearance, before Pat Cummins cleared the air about his availability for the fourth Test, the mood around the MCG went back to soaking in the Christmas spirit, with kids and families making the most of the vast expanse of the outfield at the ‘G.

Also Read: JUST IN! Australia Picks Their XI For The Boxing Day Test, Head Declared Fit!

It was a kid, all of 19, who stole all the attention a day earlier with every movement he made around the MCG, as he will on Boxing Day. Konstas’ first outing in a Baggy Green will go down as probably the most anticipated debut in Australian cricket for many a year. And Cummins couldn’t stop talking up the teenaged opener while revealing his own feelings when he made his Test debut at 18, some 13 years ago.

“I remember as an 18-year-old I was thinking, ‘I’ve got a lot more leeway because I was young’, almost publicly, so I almost felt like, if I didn’t have a great game, it wasn’t my fault, it was the selectors’ fault for picking me. I was like, ‘well, they’re the idiots that picked an 18 year old!'”

“You’re so young starting out your career – it’s Boxing Day, it doesn’t get any better than this. So just enjoy the moment.”

Great advice that should stand true not just for the young New South Welshman but for everyone who’ll take the field in front of 92,000 people on a 40-degree day at the MCG. It doesn’t get better than this, not just in terms of the setting, but also where the series stands, level currently at 1-1. A loss for Australia will mean their drought with regards to winning the Border Gavaskar Trophy will extend to at least 13 years, with the next battle between these two teams scheduled only in early 2027, that too on Indian soil. An Indian loss will not just make this series even more scintillating, but could also deliver a painful blow to the visitors’ chances of making the World Test Championship final.