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'Hoping against hope': Manjrekar's honest take on Rohit Sharma's potential batting spot on Day 5 at MCG
India would be desperate to turn the momentum back in their favour on Day 5, and Manjrekar advised to bring back Rahul as an opener to restore confidence.
Sanjay Manjrekar has sent a stern warning to Indian management, advising them to put KL Rahul back as an opener in the second innings and demote struggling Rohit Sharma to number 3. Australia has already taken a 333-run lead and still has one wicket left, which leaves the Test hanging in the balance on Day 5, with both teams having equal opportunities to win the clash. Meanwhile, India allowed the momentum to slip away, with Australian tailenders putting up a solid fightback to lead their recovery from 91/6 to 228/9 at stumps.
The visitors would be desperate to turn the momentum back in their favour on Day 5, and Manjrekar suggested bringing back Rahul as an opener to restore confidence. He feels that with Rohit, it seems like you are hoping against the hope.
“Ideally, you would want KL Rahul back at the top because it’s important to have an opening start. With the kind of form Rohit Sharma has been in, you are hoping against hope that he has another long innings under his belt. Rahul at the top restores a little more confidence, and it’s been a successful opening pair in the series. That could happen and No.3 for Rohit may not be too different from batting at the top of the order,” Manjrekar told Star Sports.
Rohit has scored just 22 runs in four innings in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy and he has not been able to cross the 30-run mark in his last eight innings.
‘You have got three guys AUS will find it tough to get out’: Manjrekar
Meanwhile, India's lower middle order has rescued India on numerous occasions in the ongoing series, with Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, and Ravindra Jadeja putting some fightback.
However, Manjrekar also asserted that it won't be easy for Australia to claim a win for Day 5 as India have depth in their batting line-up and with explosive players coming late, things might turn quickly in either way.
“But the real dangerman apart from the top four are people like Pant, who is used to playing a great innings. As the Kookaburra ball gets soft, you have got three guys Australia will find it tough to get out. Jadeja, Reddy and Sundar. With the Indian batting running deep and with a soft Kookaburra ball, Australia will have to bowl really well to clean up the entire Indian batting lineup,” Manjrekar added.
