cricket

Updated: Nov 26, 2018 12:12 IST

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar is known to speak his mind. After making it clear during the T20I series that he wanted to see skipper Virat Kohli bat at No. 3 instead of KL Rahul, the former opener has now gone ahead and said that he would ideally like to see young Prithvi Shaw and seasoned campaigner Murali Vijay open when the Indians take on Australia in the opening Test of the series from December 6 in Adelaide.

Speaking on air, Gavaskar said: “He (Shaw) is got to play the first Test. He has had his form not just in New Zealand, but also in the two Test matches that he played in home. Rahul’s form has not been well. If Rahul had been scoring runs in Australia, even in the T20s if he would have scored at least 30s or 40s, we could have said yes. But I agree with Robin Uthappa (a pundit and co-commentator), I think it has got to be Murali Vijay and Prithvi. Vijay has been doing well overseas for a long time. It had been a pretty ordinary series in England, and that can happen to anybody. But he is a good player and I would like to see him open. He and Shaw will make just the right combination. For Shaw is attacking, like (Virender) Sehwag, he likes to get to the ball. Murali, on the other hand, will play the role of an anchor.”

Senior pros Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane were dismissed cheaply, but Shaw and Hanuma Vihari warmed up nicely for the Australia Test series with half-centuries for India A against New Zealand in the first unofficial ‘Test’. Earlier, Vijay struck a fine century in a dream county debut, guiding Essex to a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Nottinghamshire in a County Championship Division One match at Trent Bridge.

Vijay scored exactly 100 from 181 balls and shared a second-wicket stand of 204 with Tom Westley, who finished with an unbeaten 110. Set 282 to win, the visitors reached their target just before lunch to complete a convincing win. This knock came after Vijay was dropped from the Indian team during the England Test series.