After facing a big defeat in the third Test, Team India is all set to face Australia in the fourth and final Test of the four-match series in Ahmedabad, starting from Thursday. The equation remains simple for the hosts, win the series 3-1 and don't depend on the result of Sri Lanka's away rubber in New Zealand for a ticket to summit WTC clash in June. Team India went ahead with KS Bharat as their wicketkeeper in the first three matches and benched Ishan Kishan. However, Bharat failed to leave a mark with the bat. Speculations are rife that Ishan might make his Test debut by replacing Bharat.
Here's what we think could be India's playing XI for the 4th Test:
Rohit Sharma: After playing a captain's knock of 120 off 212 balls in the first Test, Rohit scored 32 and 31 runs in the second Test. However, the skipper failed to get a big score in the third match as he could only score 24 runs after both the innings. He will definitely look to get a big score in the next game.
Shubman Gill: The 23-year-old batter was finally given a chance after being benched in the first two Tests. However, he could not live up to the expectations as he was dismissed for low scores like 21 and 5.
Cheteshwar Pujara: After being dismissed for 1 in the first innings, Pujara smashed 59 off 142 balls and turned out to be one of the silver linings for the hosts. He will definitely have place in the Playing XI for the fourth Test.
Virat Kohli: The star India batter had another disappointing outing during the third Test as he scored only 22 and 13 across the two innings. He is definitely capable of getting bigger scores than that.
Shreyas Iyer: The right-handed batter was dismissed for a duck in the first innings but scored 26 off 27 balls in the second innings of the third Test. It will be interesting to see whether Team India plays Iyer or go with Suryakumar Yadav or KL Rahul in his place.
KS Bharat: After KS Bharat failed to register any promising score with the bat, speculations were rife that the management might go ahead with Ishan Kishan. However, captain Rohit Sharma backed underfire wicketkeeper Bharat in the press conference on the eve of the match, indicating that the player will continue to be a part of the playing XI.
Axar Patel: The 29-year-old all-rounder went wicketless once again but scored 27 runs with the bat. Seeing his performance in the previous matches, he will definitely have a place in the Playing XI for the fourth Test.
Ravindra Jadeja: The senior all-rounder continued with his lethal bowling performance and scalped four wickets during the third Test. Jadeja is currently one of the key players for the hosts.
Ravichandran Ashwin: The veteran all-rounder gave full support to Jadeja and scalped four wickets during the third Test. He will be looking for a better performance in the next game.
Umesh Yadav: The 35-year-old pacer replaced Mohammad Shami in the Playing XI for the third Test and impressed everyone with his three-wicket haul. He also played a quick knock of 17 runs, laced with two sixes and a boundary.
Mohammed Siraj: The senior pacer once again failed to leave his mark as he went wicketless in the third Test. The management might play Umesh and Shami as their pace options in the final Test.