IND vs AUS: Rohit Sharma likely to open at MCG, Rahul to play at number three
Deccan ChronicleIndian skipper Rohit Sharma is likely to open during the fourth Test against Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground, a Boxing Day affair starting from Thursday, as per reports.The reports also suggest that KL Rahul, who has had a fine run in the series so far as an opener, could be shifted to number three. With his patient gameplay and rock-solid defence, he has had immense success seeing off the new ball.So far in the series, Rohit has had horrid outings in the middle order.Returning to the team for the Adelaide pink-ball Test, the 'Hitman' had made a decision to bat down the order due to the immense success of the opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL during the Perth Test win. Despite this though, he still has an average of 48.00 in 18 Tests he has played as a number six, with 1,056 runs and three centuries/six fifties.In the ongoing Test season which started with the home Bangladesh series, Rohit has scored a poor 152 runs in seven games at a shockingly low average of 11.69, with just one fifty to his name. He has been India's top performer in the history of the ICC World Test Championship, with 2704 runs at an average of 42.25, with nine centuries and eight fifties in 39 Tests and 67 innings.With the series level at 1-1, both sides will be playing the much-anticipated Boxing Day Test intending to secure an all-important series lead needed to push a case for the ICC World Test Championship final.Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott BolandIndia's squad for fourth and fifth Tests: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd.