The remaining three Test matches of the Border Gavaskar Trophy will be captained by Ajinkya Rahane after team India faced a crushing defeat in the Adelaide Test under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. Kohli has returned home for the birth of his first child. On the other hand, senior speedster Mohammad Shami has been ruled out of the remaining Tests due to a fractured wrist.
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Young sensational speedster Mohammad Siraj has been named in India's playing XI for the Melbourne Test. Veteran opener Rohit Sharma is in quarantine in Sydney and will not be able to be a part of Ind vs Aus 2nd Test. India has announced their playing XI with four changes from the last Test. Shubman Gill comes in place of Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant replaces Wriddhiman Saha and Ravindra Jadeja replaces Virat Kohli.
Ajinkya Rahane-led team India will do everything possible to prevent Australia from taking a 2-0 lead and stats favour them as the visitors have not lost a single Test at iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground since 2011.
India managed to draw the Boxing Day Test in 2014. They dominated Aussies and won the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne in 2018. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the last Indian captain to be defeated by the Australian team led by Michael Clarke. In 13 matches on MCG, India have attained 3 wins, 8 defeats and two draws. India's winning percentage on this iconic ground is 23.07.
India's Test performance on Australian pitches:
Melbourne: 13 Played, 3 Wins, 8 Losses and 2 Draws
Adelaide: 13 Played, 2 Wins, 8 Losses and 3 Draws
Sydney: 12 Played, 1 Win, 5 Losses and 6 Draws
Perth: 4 Played, 1 Win, 3 Losses and 0 Draws
Brisbane: 6 Played, 0 Win, 0 Losses and 1 Draw
India's overall record against Australia in Boxing Day Test: 8 Matches, 1 Win, 2 Draw And 5 Losses
Team India will take inspiration from the Boxing Day win of 2018, otherwise they don't have a good record when it comes to facing the heavyweights on December 26! In the Boxing Day Test, India played 8 matches against Aussies, won one, drew 2 and lost 5. India has also played Boxing Day Test matches against South Africa and New Zealand, but has played most against Australia. India has played the Test match against Australia 8 times on 26 December. India and Australia played their first-ever Boxing Day test in 1985. That match ended as a draw.
Ind vs Aus: Ajinkya Rahane's record against Australia!
Ajinkya Rahane has a career average of 41.12 in 9 matches vs Australia, but his performance in Melbourne has been impressive. On his first tour of Australia in 2014, he played an innings of 147 and 48 runs. This match ended in a draw. Rahane (230 runs) needs 87 more runs to break Virat Kohli's (316 runs) record for most runs scored by an Indian batsman at Melbourne. Virat in second in this list as Sachin Tendulkar leads the scoring charts with 449 runs off 5 Tests at MCG.
Virat Kohli-led team India suffered a humiliating defeat by 8 wickets in Adelaide after getting bundled up for just 36 runs in the second innings. India is currently lagging behind in the four-match series. After the defeat in 1st Test, there have been some major changes in the Indian team for important Melbourne Test.
Shubman Gill has been included in the team in place of Prithvi Shaw. After making his ODI debut last year, Shubman will make his Test debut with the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Rishabh Pant has been included as wicketkeeper-batsman in playing XI in place of Wriddhiman Saha.
Mohammed Siraj replaced Mohammed Shami. Ind vs Aus 2nd Test at iconic MCG will witness the Test debut of Siraj. Shami has been ruled out of the Test series against Australia due to an injury he suffered in Adelaide. It was a big blow for India as his strike rate is 49.9, which is the best for an Indian fast bowler in India's Test cricket history (minimum 150 wickets).
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is included in the playing XI after he passed the fitness test. It was being said that Jadeja would replace Hanuma Vihari, but both the players have been included.
