Australia vs India 2018-19: 3 Indian batsmen who are under fire to perform

India versus Australia is the flavour of this cricketing season, and the series is poised beautifully at this stage. The action will commence on 26th December in Melbourne, and India's batting response in the Perth Test match has re-awakened the demons of overseas batting failures. BCCI has been accommodating in making the necessary arrangements to send the Test specialists to New Zealand and arranged a practice match in Sydney.

All these factors have still not helped a few in the squad, who have been there to fill up the numbers. This series is going to make and break a few careers. After all, India started their overseas season in January 2018 with the reputation of being the best batting side, and it's the batting that has let them down.

Let's look into three Indian batsmen who are under tremendous pressure to perform.

---

#3 Murali Vijay

Murali Vijay has had an impressive Test career for India. He started in 2008 as a back up to Gautam Gambhir and became a Test regular when the southpaw lost his form. Vijay was probably the most technically proficient Indian batsman during the 2014 overseas stint.

Vijay scored an impressive 97 versus South Africa in Durban, followed by a masterly 146 against England in Trentbridge. He scored an important 95 in Lords followed it up with another masterclass scoring 144 at Brisbane. Sourav Ganguly even called him an "all-weather batsman" and he consolidated his position with good performances in India's long home season in 2016 and 2017.

The real need of the hour was to perform in South Africa, England and Australia where he has miserably failed. Except for a 46 against South Africa in Centurion, Vijay has averaged 12.80 scoring 128 runs in 10 innings.

He was dropped after the first 2 Tests in England and then came back into the side in place of Shikhar Dhawan. Age is not in his side and young players are constantly knocking the door and Vijay's twin failures in Adelaide and Perth has put his position in jeopardy and he needs to perform in MCG before its too late.

#2 KL Rahul

KL Rahul has all the flamboyance of a star, but it's his performances on the field that his disappointing everyone. Hailed as the next big thing in Indian cricket, Rahul started his Test career in Australia in Melbourne and scored a classy 110 in his second Test match in Sydney.

He scored impressive hundreds against Sri Lanka, and West Indies and Indian fans felt that we finally found an opener who can score runs in all conditions. KL Rahul was one of the top performers in India's home season with runs against England and Australia.

When the time was ripe to perform and cement his position as one of the top batters, Rahul has failed miserably. He has played 12 matches in 2018 and had 23 innings in which he has scored 391 runs at an average of 19.55. Rahul scored 149 in the Oval as a consolation and became India's second highest run scorer in England with 299 runs behind Kohli, but his other performances have been below average.

Even though he has been Ravi Shastri's blue-eyed boy and enjoyed the backing of his captain, time is up for him to perform in MCG; if he gets an opportunity or else, he needs to go back to domestic cricket and score some runs as talent alone can't just keep him in the team.

#1 Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane not so long ago had the reputation as India's best overseas batsman. He started to make significant strides when India toured the SENA countries in 2013/14, and Rahane scored classy centuries in New Zealand, England and Australia with a fighting 96 in Durban against South Africa.

When India felt that had a reliable middle-order bat, Rahane's form started to dip when England toured India in 2016. Rahane failed against the spin-twins Rashid and Moeen Ali and lost his place due to an injury. He came back at the cost of Karun Nair who was dropped, after scoring a triple hundred against England.

Rahane's failure against Sri Lanka in 2017 home Test series convinced Kohli to drop him in place of Rohit Sharma in South Africa. Rahane came back into the squad in the third Test and scored 48. He failed in England and added two half-centuries to his kitty and never really looked comfortable against quality swing bowling.

Recklessness has crept into his game and its high-time, and he has scored a total of 479 runs in 15 overseas innings with four half-centuries at an average of 31.93.

His dismissal to Lyon in the first session of the third day in Perth Test match derailed India's batting and became one of the critical reasons for India's defeat.

Rahane being the vice-captain, should shoulder more responsibility as he has time and again thrown-away starts. His performance in MCG will be crucial if India has to take the lead in the series