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

#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