India axed both openers from the playing XI for the Melbourne Test and decided to hand a debut to Mayank Agarwal while drafted fit-again Rohit Sharma back into the squad.
With the four-Test series tied 1-1, much is riding on the Boxing Day showdown at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where up to 90,000 fans are expected, and India can’t afford another top order flop.
Murali Vijay and KL Rahul scored just 95 runs between them in eight innings across the opening two Tests in Adelaide and Perth, failing to play their part alongside the likes of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara.
Agarwal will open the batting but who will his partner be? The popular choice seems to Hanuma Vihari but with Virat Kohli, one can never be sure.
Here is how Twitter reacted to India’s announcement:
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