Published: Mar 04, 2017, 10:04 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 04, 2017, 10:16 AM (IST)
Abhinav Mukund replaced injured Murali Vijay in the second of the four-Test series at Bengaluru. Virat Kohli, at the toss, said that Vijay injured his shoulder during the net session, making way for the backup opener Mukund. Meanwhile, triple-centurion Karun Nair replaced the all-rounder Jayant Yadav. However, Mukund last played a Test in 2011, against England at Nottingham. Before this match, Mukund had represented India in 5 Tests, scoring 211 runs at 21.1 inclusive of a half-century. For that matter, India have played a number of openers this season, trying veteran Gautam Gambhir, the erratic Shikhar Dhawan, wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel. Nonetheless, the duo of Vijay and KL Rahul had an edge over others given their performances. Full cricket scorecard: India vs Australia, 2nd Test
As fate would have it, Mukund did not have a comeback he had dreamt of. He went back to the pavilion without disturbing the scoreboard. He missed Mitchell Starc’s full delivery, getting trapped in front. Thinking it might have drifted down, Mukund discussed with Rahul that whether he should take a review. Rahul nodded, signalling it would have gone on to hit the stumps. As a matter of fact, the replay suggested that it would have hit the leg stump. Full cricket updates: India vs Australia, 2nd Test
Mukund missed as many as 56 matches since he last played a Test, taking him to the second spot of the list of most matches missed for India. Parthiv Patel (83) tops the chart. However, Mukund will wait for the second innings to make amends and make the most of his opportunity.
