Rohit Sharma’s woeful run of form in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy continued despite his return to the opening spot for the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the MCG.
The Indian skipper, who batted at No. 6 in the last two Tests, managed to score only 3 runs in the first innings before being dismissed by his counterpart Pat Cummins.
Facing a short-of-length delivery outside off, Rohit attempted a half-hearted pull shot, resulting in a mistimed top-edge that went straight up towards mid-on, where Scott Boland completed a simple catch.
Notably, Rohit missed the first Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia due to the birth of his second child. He returned to lead the side in the pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval, but failed to make a mark with the bat.
Sharma moved down the order to retain the successful opening partnership of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal. However, the decision backfired as he managed to score 3 and 6 across the two innings.
During the rain-marred third Test at Gabba, the captain continued to bat at No. 6 and scored only 10 runs in the only innings that he played.
Now, Rohit’s return as an opener turned into a forgettable outing, with critics questioning his shot selection.
"That's just a lazy, not switched on, not up for the moment type of shot. He's been known as one of the best hookers and pullers of the ball since he's made his debut but that's just not there,” Australian legend Ricky Ponting said on Seven Cricket.
"It's nothing. It's not committed, not really looking to be aggressive, he's just looking to tap it on the head. Might have held in the wicket yes, it might have seamed away from him a fraction. But if you're going to survive against this Australian attack, you've got to be switched on. You've got to be making good decisions. If you're not, they'll knock you over every time," he added.
Coming to the Melbourne Test, the hosts racked up a mammoth 474/10 in their first innings on the back of Steve Smith’s stunning hundred (140). Australia’s top-three also returned with half-centuries while captain Cummins made a handy contribution of 49 runs.
In reply, the visitors were 51/2 at Tea break on Day 2. Apart from Rohit, India lost KL Rahul (24) on the ball before tea.
