Australia vs India, 4th Test Day 1: Five Talking Points

#2 Mayank, Hanuma could be the next best finds for India; KL Rahul's woes continue

Mayank Agarwal

Murali Vijay's non-impressive stint in the middle with his bat, followed by Prithvi Shaw's injury - paved the way for someone to finally enter the foray of the Indian Cricket Team, after knocking on its doors for a long time. The person being talked about is Mayank Agarwal, one of India's most consistent domestic batsmen of recent years.

Agarwal has since made 195 runs across 3 innings, and is the fifth-best scorer in the series so far, behind Pujara, Kohli, Travis Head and Rahane. His maiden innings was a memorable 76 in the last game, which he has now followed up with the 77 he made earlier today. During the 112-ball innings, he smashed seven hits past the fence and two over it, and also featured in a century partnership with Pujara, after the other opener KL Rahul fell in the very second over.

Agarwal showed how he had the talent and skill to stay put in the side, and will clearly be a huge factor for India in future competitions.

Another person worth mentioning here is Hanuma Vihari, who joined Pujara when India were looking right at a potential tumble-down, at 228/4. Vihari played his shots with immaculate timing which only bettered as the day grew older.

In the later stages of the day, he even assumed most of the charge himself and made sure that his side retired for the day suffering no further damage.

An ideal anchor-man, Vihari could be the long-term solution to India's lower-middle order woes that have been burdening them for quite a while now. In the ongoing game right now, he is unbeaten on 39 off 58, with five fours to his name.

With Agarwal, Vihari, Prithvi Shaw and to an extent even Rohit Sharma staking their calls for the Test side, one person whose position within the first eleven is as wobbly as a broken chair, is KL Rahul. The Karnataka batsman who has the rare honour of having made international tons across all formats, is, however, a failure in the ongoing Test series, to put it plainly. Once again, Rahul fell to a very cheap shot right in the second over the day, despite having shown considerable intent in the two fours he played prior to dismissal.

Such repeated failures will never hold a strong case for Rahul, and he may as well be staring right at a temporary exit from the national team, right now.