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Mindset, Combination, or Else! What Changes could India make for the IND vs AUS 3rd Test at Gabba?

By Rahul Chaube December 9, 2024 10:50 AM IST

India again lost the all-hyped pink ball test and now all eyes are on Rohit Sharma and management for the third test. India could learn a lot from their mistakes at Adelaide Oval and let's look at the improvements that India could make.
Mindset, Combination, or Else! What Changes could India make for the IND vs AUS 3rd Test
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IND vs AUS 3rd Test: The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is at the level with a 1-1 scoreline. All the speculations of India dominating the rest of the series after the Perth victory were left untouched just after the three-day Pink-ball test match.

How dramatically the tides have shifted for the visitors since Jasprit Bumrah led the side. India appeared on track to assert their supremacy over Australia and the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a stunning and unforeseen triumph at Perth Stadium, defying expectations and expert predictions.

However, the scenario changed drastically with Rohit Sharma taking the lead over. Unfortunately for him, most of his tactics and plans at the Adelaide Oval failed to deliver, leaving the team struggling to regain momentum.

The aftermath of the Adelaide loss is unlikely to see the Indian team facing the same level of harsh criticism or being written off as the Australians were following their defeat in Perth. The scrutiny is often harsher and more unforgiving for the home side. Besides, India has earned some goodwill thanks to their commanding performance in the opening Test, which still adds weight to their campaign.

Let's take a look at the areas where the Indian team could make a change or improvement before going to the third Test:

The Changes India could make for the IND vs AUS 3rd Test

India faces a tough challenge with the short turnaround before the third Test in Brisbane. It will be a test of resilience for the bowlers to recover in time and for Jasprit Bumrah to sustain his exceptional energy levels. For the batting unit, the focus will be on finding much-needed consistency to support the team’s efforts in this crucial match.

Mindset: Yes! There is a need to have an attacking and aggressive mindset of the entire team for the remaining three matches. From the Siraj-Head incident, the Indian Team can take this as a challenge and quite the whole of Australia right at the Gabba. 

Rohit Sharma has won many test matches for India with his style of leading. He has a wonderful mix of aggression and calmness but that just might not be sufficient for the conditions we are in!

Combination: For combination, Why? There is definitely no room for any change in the playing11 as of now. What would you change? Rohit, Jaiswal, Gill, Kohli, KL Rahul, Pant, and Nitish Reddy are just untouchables in the current scenario and the fast Bowling unit is also giving out their full. However, the skipper could think of replacing Jadeja with Ashwin, as he provides better batting but it is not that necessary. 

Position: Not much to change in the team combination but one thing is for sure, i.e., batting order. Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, and many others said on air, that they didn't see any reason for Rohit Sharma to bat down the order now. He has been his best when batted top of the order and that position gave birth to the New Rohit Sharma and he must return to the top order. 

Now, after all, India had bad batting days at Adelaide, inefficient bowling, and they were lacking confidence for sure. The Men in Blue are sure to bounce back as they have done in the past. A complete team game and supporting each other is going to win us the Gabba Test once again. 

READ: What's next for Rohit Sharma? Test failures spark calls for his retirement

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