Despite trying various players in that role, the team management had failed to firm up their minds then. And the selectors' final choice of Vijay Shankar as the one equipped to do the job became a butt of jokes.
During that tournament, it became a case of musical chairs.
After starting KL Rahul in the tournament opener against South Africa, Hardik Pandya was promoted to No.4 in the second and third matches, versus Australia and Pakistan. In the fifth and sixth games, against Afghanistan and West Indies, Vijay Shankar batted there. After the experiment flopped, Rishabh Pant came in at No.4 for the remaining matches, including the semi-final.
With their top-order firing brilliantly led by Rohit Sharma's century spree, the weak spot was masked during the round-robin stage. However, over-reliance on the top-order hurt India in the semis when it misfired against New Zealand after openers Rohit and Rahul, and Virat Kohli all got out for one run each at Old Trafford. There was no recovery from there; No.4 Pant made 32 and No.5 Dinesh Karthik was out for six as India were reduced to 92/6.
The difference a settled No.4 can make to the side is what we are seeing at this World Cup.
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