Updated On: 01 March, 2023 09:46 AM IST | Indore | R Kaushik
The big conundrum ahead of skipper Rohit and coach Dravid is whether to persist with opener KL Rahul or pick Gill, who can build on his phenomenal form of December and January, when he scored hundreds in all three formats

Shubman Gill (left) slams one while KL Rahul looks on from the adjacent net during a practice session at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Monday. Pics/PTI
It’s been a series dominated as much by talk about the nature of the playing surfaces as Australia’s shocking single-session meltdowns in the second innings of both Tests thus far. Remarkably, Rohit Sharma didn’t have to field a single question at Tuesday’s pre-game presser about the pitch at the Holkar Stadium, the venue for India’s third Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia, beginning on Wednesday.
At first glance, there’s very little different about this track from the ones that greeted the sides in Nagpur and New Delhi—dry patches at the business end on both sides bookending a grassy middle. It’s what India believe should be their staunchest ally in their bid to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship, which they will if they open up a 3-0 lead at any stage over the next five days.