Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly feels Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will need to put a price on their wicket in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand. It will be crucial for the Indian team that they get off to a good start and the onus will be on their openers.
Rohit Sharma has all the experience under his belt and he will look to be at his best to provide a good start to the team. However, the right-hander is yet to savour success in overseas conditions as a Test opener.
On the other hand, Shubman Gill made an impressive start to his Test career as he scored 259 runs in three Test matches against Australia. Gill scored a fine knock of 91 runs which helped the Indian team win the historic Test match at the Gabba. However, Gill could only score 119 runs in four Test matches against England in the home conditions.
But the youngster from Punjab scored a good knock of 85 runs in the intra-squad match before the World Test Championship final, which will give weightage to his selection.
Meanwhile, Trent Boult and Tim Southee will be a major threat for the Indian openers. Boult can get the ball to move back into the right-handers whereas Southee will get the ball to move away from them.
It is imperative for the openers to play out the new ball and make the life of a middle-order batsman more easier.
Ganguly said while talking to India Today, “Opening becomes a very important aspect when you tour abroad. When we toured Australia, England and Pakistan, we played well because we had openers like Virender Sehwag and Aakash Chopra, who used to play out the new ball and make it old. When your middle-order batsmen come out to bat at 30 for 2 then it becomes really difficult for a side to compete.”
“This tour therefore, will be very crucial for openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Not just the WTC final but also the 5 Tests against England. They will have to play out the new ball and put a price on their wickets. If they are able to do that then they will be able to set the game for the batsmen coming after them like Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and India’s best batsman on current form Rishabh Pant.”
Ganguly feels India’s batting could be an issue for the Virat Kohli-led team. The WTC final begins today at Ageas Bowl, Southampton.
