India comfortably beat Australia in the first Test of the four-match Test series. The Rohit Sharma-led team beat Australia by an inning and 132 runs as they bundled Pat Cummins and Co. for 91 in their second innings. Ravindra Jadeja starred for India with his seven-wicket haul and a half-century while R Ashwin (eight wickets) and Rohit Sharma (120) also made handy contributions.
Download SportsTiger app for the latest sports news and updates.
Axar Patel also did a terrific job too, with the bat as the southpaw scored a half-century and propelled India to 400. However, top guns of the team, especially in batting, failed miserably. The trio of KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Cheteshwar Pujara could not make the most of the opportunity presented as the three batters could add only 39 runs combined. While Kohli fell for 12, Pujara could score just 7 runs before playing a sweep right into the hands of the short fine leg fielder.
KL Rahul, meanwhile, scored 20 runs before he handed a simple return catch to Todd Murphy to hand the Australian his maiden Test wicket. As Rahul got preference over in-form Shubman Gill, questions were raised after the batter failed to score big. Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad also questioned Rahul’s place in the team. Meanwhile, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has backed the opening batter to get one more chance.
Gavaskar has said that as Rahul has performed so well in the last couple of years, he should get one more chance at least and if he fails again, then the management can consider giving Shubman Gill a longer rope.
"I feel the way he has batted in the last 1-2 years, he has performed well. I feel he should be given one more chance. I'm sure he will be backed for the Test match in Delhi. After that you can give it a thought because you have an in-form batter ready to replace him, Shubman Gill," he said in a conversation with India Today.
Gavaskar’s former teammate Madal Lal echoed the legendary opener’s thoughts saying Rahul possesses the ability to score big and he has shown it in the past.
"He should definitely get a chance. Even when Vikram Rathour came to the press conference, he reminded everyone that he scored a century in South Africa. He does have the ability, but he has been out of form lately. Scoring against Australia is a big challenge in itself, and getting those runs gives a morale boost. But he can be stuck here. However, based on his ability, he should get another chance," he said.