A humorous banter took place between Nathan Lyon and KL Rahul during India's first innings of the fourth Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series. Nathan Lyon's comment on KL Rahul's batting stance was picked up on the stump mic after skipper Rohit Sharma's failure in the opener.
Rohit Sharma struggled with the bat during the second day of the fourth Test in Melbourne on Friday, December 27. The right-handed batsman scored just three runs from five balls before being dismissed by Australian skipper Pat Cummins. This failure came despite Rohit returning to his usual opening role.
“What did you do wrong to beat One Down?” – Nathan Lyon to KL Rahul
KL Rahul was moved from his opening spot for the Boxing Day Test as Rohit returned to his starting position. Rahul played a key role in India's victory in the first Test in Perth and in the reply at The Gabba. However, the Indian team made changes in the lineup due to Rohit's struggles in the middle order.
As the new batsman prepared to face off, Nathan Lyon asked him why he was batting at number 3 despite having a good run as an opener. Lyon's remark about KL Rahul's batting stance was picked up on the stump mic.
“What did you do wrong to hit one?” Lyon's remark was picked up by the hub mic.
Take a look at the short interaction right here:
It was the change in #TeamIndiaIs his batting order justified? Sanjay Manjrekar shares his thoughts! 🗣#AUSvINDOnStar 👉 4th Trial, Day 2 | LIVE NOW! | #ToughestRivalry #BorderGavaskarTrophy pic.twitter.com/zvfQ04QlhA
– Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 27, 2024
— hsns (@sharmahu45) December 27, 2024
KL Rahul batted at number 3 for the first time in his debut Test match during the Boxing Day 2014 Test against Australia. Since then, he has only batted in the position twice, with his most recent appearance at No.3 in the 2018 Test against England at Edgbaston.
Rohit Sharma has not been proactive and is struggling – MSK Prasad
Former India coach MSK Prasad criticized Rohit Sharma's captaincy during the Boxing Day Test against Australia. He mentioned that captaincy has a direct impact on team performance. Prasad also compared Rohit to former captains like Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, who led from the front in Australia.
“Captainship has a direct impact on team performance. Unfortunately, Rohit has not been proactive and is struggling. When Sam Konstas was going all guns blazing, he went on with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for 11 innings instead of turning to someone else,” MSK Prasad told Star Sports during commentary (via CricToday).
“His batting has been regular since the Test series against New Zealand and he landed in Australia with no form under his belt. If you look at the last two series wins in Australia, Virat Kohli has led from the front on the first occasion. When we were bowled out for 36 in Adelaide in the last series, Ajinkya Rahane revived the team with a brilliant hundred at the Melbourne Cricket Ground,” added MSK Prasad.
India opted for an unconventional team selection in the fourth Test, leaving out batsman Shubman Gill. However, they included three linemen, two of whom were spinners.
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