Interestingly, Rahul is the leading run-scorer of India in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Series so far and second scorer overall. The Indian batter has to his credits around 235 runs in six innings at an average of 47.00, including 2 half-centuries with the best score of 84.
Rahul’s moment of glory…
While the focus will be on Rahul’s batting, the Karnataka-born batter has a golden opportunity to achieve a rare milestone during this Test: a hat-trick of centuries in Boxing Day Tests.
Rahul’s previous Boxing Day appearances against South Africa in 2021 and 2023 has ended in centuries. He made 123 (alongside a 23) in a victorious outing at Centurion in 2021, and 101 (with a 4) in a losing effort at the same venue last year.
Can he repeat the heroics in MCG?
India vs Australia: Squads
Australia squad
Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
India squad
Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.