Melbourne [Australia], December 21 : As India aims to secure a crucial series lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia during the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), all eyes will be on Indian opener KL Rahul, who has been in exceptional form in a series that has largely been challenging for Indian batters.
The third Test, scheduled to begin on December 26, will be a Boxing Day affair. The series is currently tied at 1-1. KL Rahul, promoted to the opening slot this series after skipper Rohit Sharma opted to play in the middle order following the birth of his second child, has appeared extremely composed and confident against the new, moving ball. He is India's leading run-scorer in the series so far and the second overall, with 235 runs in six innings at an average of 47.00, including two half-centuries and a best score of 84.
Rahul has a fine opportunity to achieve a rare milestone during this Test: a hat-trick of centuries in Boxing Day Tests. In his last two Boxing Day appearances, both against South Africa in 2021 and 2023, Rahul scored 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.
KL has only played one Boxing Day Test in Australia, which happened to be his debut Test in 2014. On that occasion, he managed scores of three and one.
While there has been some inconsistency in Rahul's Boxing Day Test performances, his ability to deliver two centuries in consecutive fixtures highlights his knack for rising to the occasion in one of cricket's marquee events, which often attracts large crowds.
In eight Tests this year, Rahul has scored 469 runs at an average of 39.08, with four half-centuries and a best score of 86 across 14 innings. In the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle, he has accumulated 574 runs in nine matches at an average of 41.00, with one century, four fifties, and a top score of 101.
Can KL Rahul achieve a hat-trick of Boxing Day Test centuries? Only time will tell.
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.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal.