Uncertainty looms: Rohit Sharma's batting position and Ashwin's SENA future in spotlight ahead of India vs Australia 2nd Test

India is geared up to face off against Australia in the second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Test series in Adelaide. This will be a pink ball Test, adding an exciting element to the match. India will enter the game with a 1-0 lead in the five-test series, following their impressive 295-run victory in Perth. On the other hand, Australia has a remarkable track record in Day/Night Tests at Adelaide Oval, boasting an unbeaten streak of 7-0. Overall, Australia holds a dominant 11-1 record in Test cricket at home, making them a formidable opponent for India.

Ahead of the 2nd Test in Adelaide, we take a look at some of the burning questions for both sides…

This will perhaps be India's main concern heading into the Adelaide Test. Ideally, it shouldn't have been a worry for the management with Rohit, who missed the opening Test match of the series in Perth, taking his usual spot at the top of the order. But in the Perth Test that he missed, owing to the birth of his second child, his replacement KL Rahul scored a vital 77 in a record 201-run stand with Yashasvi Jaiswal, leaving India thinking if they at all want to disturb the opening combination, that had laid the foundation of the record 295-run win. So where does that leave Rohit?

He can either bat at No. 3, leaving India to drop Shubman Gill, who also missed the opening Test, due to a thumb injury, to No. 6. or vice versa.

Notably, Rohit never batted outside the opening spot in six years, the last being at No. 6 in the 2018/19 tour of Australia. And hence, the India captain is unlikely to find it uncomfortable batting the middle order. Moreover, if the warm-up match in Canberra on Sunday was any indication, Rahul had opened with Yashasvi Jaiswal, with Gill at No. 3, while Rohit batted at No. 4 in the absence of Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant.

India are unlikely to make any changes in the bowling department and, hence, will likely stick with Washington Sundar as their lone spinner. Moreover, he did pick two wickets in the last match, both in the second innings, and scored a fiery 42 not out in the pink-ball warm-up game. This means Ashwin's SENA exile is unlikely to end in Adelaide, having last appeared in such Test in January 2022 in Cape Town against South Africa.

On his Test debut in Perth, Rana picked up three wickets in the opening innings, including the dismissal of Travis Head. Later in the pink-ball warm-up match, the Delhi speedster snared four wickets in just six balls to inflict a mini collapse for Australia Prime Minister's XI. Hence, India are unlikely to bench Rana for Akash Deep.

Australia are likely to face a major bowling concern in Adelaide, with Hazlewood ruled out owing to an injury. He is likely to be replaced by Scott Boland, although there were some issues raised in Australian media as the selectors' call to feature the fast bowler in the pick-ball warm-up match was questioned. They reckoned that Australia should have dropped Boland from the game in a bid to not give away tactics to the Indian batters.

But Australia's larger concern will be Mitchell Marsh's fitness. The all-rounder may have brushed aside injury concerns to reveal that he will be part of the Adelaide Test, but reports reveal that he might not bowl. Hence, the management could include uncapped Tasmanian all-rounder Beau Webster in the XI.

In the first 32 matches of his career, Labuschagne scored 3071 runs at 59.05, with 10 centuries and 13 fifties. It was on the back of this run that the Aussie rose to the top-ranking spot in Test cricket. However, since the start of 2023, he scored just one century in 19 matches, amassing only 1048 runs to an average of 31.75.

Following his scores of 2 and 3 in Perth, selectors have been told by veteran cricketers and experts to drop Labuschagne, but the management is likely to give him one last chance, especially given his record in Adelaide, where he scored 574 runs in nine innings at 71.75, with three tons and a fifty. However, if he fails yet again, Labuschagne might be dropped from the squad and will miss the chance to play in front of his home crowd in Brisbane.