Indians must 'run' hard

The middle day of a Test match is considered the moving day though in this series by the time of Day Three the outcome has been a foregone conclusion By extension the middle Test of a fivematch series especially one beautifully balanced at 11 is of vital significance for obvious reasonsThatrsquos precisely why the third Test beginning at the hallowed Gabba here on Saturday assumes greater importance than normal With everything to play for Australia and India will leave no stone unturned in their bid to grab the advantage the momentum with the hosts and the pressure on the visitors to respond in kind after their 10wicket loss in AdelaideLack of runsAll the problems seemed to be concentrated in Indiarsquos basket like they had been in Australiarsquos after the unexpected 295run reversal in Perth Most of those problems revolve around their batting mdash the lack of runs all season of skipper Rohit Sharma Virat Kohlirsquos vulnerability outside off and where Rohit should batHaving slipped down to No 6 for the first time since 2018 Rohit didnrsquot have a fruitful pink ball outing That KL Rahul to whom Rohit surrendered his opening role didnrsquot fire either has renewed calls for the captain to revert to the top of the order because thatrsquos where in the last five years he has enjoyed great successFrom the outside that would suggest uncertainty but within the changingroom there is clarity on what the way forward is India will be hoping that clarity spills over to the field as well and that the malaise of firstinnings underachieving which has manifested itself in four defeats in their last five Tests is emphatically put to bed at the venue of one of Indiarsquos greatest Test victories in January 2021Should Washington Sundar nudge back ahead of R Ashwin in the spinbowling allrounder stakes India will be served by four members who were part of that epochal threewicket triumph Shubman Gill with 91 and Rishabh Pant with an unbeaten 89 were the principal protagonists in the successful chase of 329 at a ground where the Aussies hadnrsquot been vanquished since 1988 and they will look to feed off those heroics with India desperately seeking toporder runsHarshit Rana has been under the scrutiny after going for plenty mainly to the explosive Travis Head in Adelaide Akash Deep who made a strong start to his Test career earlier this year is fancied to feature in the XI if India look beyond Rana It might be unfair on the youngster if he is dropped after one poor game but thatrsquos how it goes in the world of competitive sportOz in much better spaceAustralia are in a much better space more so with Josh Hazlewood back fit and firing His replacement Scott Boland had a very good Adelaide outing but like many Indian spinners who could only look on helplessly during the era of the great quartet Australiarsquos support pacers have little option but to bide their time in the age of the Mitchell StarcPat CumminsHazlewood hegemonyMarnus Labuschagnersquos feisty 64 has eased some of Australiarsquos batting crease lines Their summer will take on an even more sunny hue if former captain Steve Smith too could find some runs7No of Test matches India have played in Brisbane They won one lost five while one ended in a draw