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In the battle of captains, Australia skipper Pat Cummins established his dominance over his counterpart Rohit Sharma on the final day of the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Melbourne.
Rohit came out to open alongside young Yashasvi Jaiswal to make a case for India to chase down a herculean 340-run total set by the hosts. Instead of going berserk in front of MCG stands filled with hopeful Indian fans, the opening duo decided to deal with caution and negate the threat of the new red ball. Rohit looked comfortable till the drinks break, and even after the resumption of the game, he grew more in confidence. After facing 39 deliveries and understanding the nature of the surface, Rohit felt it was time to take a chance against Cummins. The Indian skipper tried to flick Captain Fantastic but gave away a leading edge in the process to Mitchell Marsh, stationed at gully. The Indian skipper had to return to the dressing room with 9(40). This was the sixth instance of Rohit losing his wicket to Cummins in Test cricket, the most a captain has been dismissed by an opposition captain in the format. Former England captain Ted Dexter lost his wicket to former Australia captain Richie Benaud five times. Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar is tied for the feat after losing his wicket five times to former Pakistan captain Imran Khan. After Rohit's dismissal, everything fell apart for the Indian team. KL Rahul joined the Indian skipper in the same over for a five-ball duck. Virat Kohli lost his discipline and got lured into playing a drive by left-armer Mitchell Starc on the final ball before lunch. Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant offered stability and assurance by leading the charge against the Australian bowling attack. Boundaries became more frequent, with Australian bowlers feeling tiredness creep up to them with each passing over. (ANI)
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