Rohit, Kohli's Batting Woes And...? 3 Reasons India Will Lose The SCG Test Match

Anurag Dasgupta

Rohit and Kohli have been in poor form [Source: AP Photos] Rohit and Kohli have been in poor form [Source: AP Photos]

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Barring Jasprit Bumrah, none of the big Indian stars have stood tall as the visitors finds themselves under the rock as they are trailing the Australian team, 1-2 ahead of the series finale in Sydney.

The team has lacked the cutting edge as they lost the MCG Test without putting up a proper fight. The batters failed to deliver the goods and the bowlers couldn't do much apart from Bumrah as the Aussies won the match comfortably as they get closer to the WTC finale.

The next Test match is in Sydney and the team has a great chance to level the series with a win. However, looking at three key parameters, there is a strong evidence that the Rohit Sharma led side will lose the contest and here's why.

3) Shambolic form of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

The two stalwarts of the Indian cricket team - Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have failed in the ongoing series. Yes, Kohli scored a ton in Perth, but apart from that his weakness outside the off stump has been badly exploited.

Rohit on the other hand is yet to score 20 runs in a single innings and has become Pat Cummins' bunny in this series. The skipper started the series at number 5, and when that moved failed, he opened the innings and had twin failures in MCG. If the same form continues for the two greats at SCG, India will lose the contest.

2) No support for Bumrah

It has been a one man show when it comes to the Indian bowling. While Bumrah has taken 30 wickets in 4 Tests, the others have simply failed him. The likes of Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Harshit Rana (in the first two Tests) have been good in patches, but they've all been found out on this tour.

One bowler cannot get you 20 wickets, the others need to chip in and that is not happening for India on this tour, which made the Australian batters' job a lot easier.

1) Baffling captaincy from Rohit

Rohit Sharma has not only been poor with his batting, but also with his captaincy decisions. When KL Rahul was batting well at the opening slot, he changed his position and came to open in MCG.

For the Adelaide Pink-Ball Test, Akash Deep should have been in the playing XI, but instead, the skipper went ahead with Harshit Rana. During Australia's second innings in the MCG Test, when Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon were plying, the field was spread out which allowed easy singles for the duo to take.

If such decisions are repeated in the SCG Test match, India won't stand a chance to win the contest.