Image: Nathan Lyon's humorous comment to KL Rahul about his batting position provided a light moment / © News Nine
On the second day of the fourth Test in Melbourne, Friday, December 27, Rohit Sharma had a disappointing performance with the bat. Opening the innings, the right-hander managed to score just three runs from five balls before being dismissed by Australian captain Pat Cummins. His return to the opener’s role didn’t go as planned, adding to India’s challenges in the match.
For the Boxing Day Test, Rahul was shifted from the opener’s role as Rohit returned to his usual position. Rahul had been crucial in India’s win in Perth and their fightback at The Gabba, but the team reshuffled the lineup to address Rohit’s difficulties batting in the middle order.
While the new batter prepared to face the ball, Nathan Lyon jokingly asked why he was batting at No.3 after performing well as an opener earlier in the series. Lyon’s comment about KL Rahul’s change in batting position was picked up by the stump mic, adding a touch of humour to the game. Lyon said:
What did you do wrong to bat one down?
During his debut in Test in the 2014 Boxing Day match against Australia, Rahul batted at No.3 for the first time. Since then, he played in that position only twice, with his most recent innings at No.3 coming in the 2018 Test against England at Edgbaston.