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KL Rahul’s worst moment in the match arrived in the form of a bizarre defense-turned-leave off spinner Corey Rocchiccioli, that ran straight onto the stumps and left Rahul castled and confused.
KL Rahul registered yet another disappointing innings with the bat for India A (X)
Another day, another dismal dismissal from KL Rahul, who failed to showcase his skillset to the Indian selectors against an Australia A line-up in the second unofficial Test match on Friday.
Being the only player in the entire India A line-up who has even played at the MCG, Rahul was expected to help lead the team to betterment after a disappointing loss in their first match.
For Rahul himself, this match was serving as an audition to stake his claim in India’s Test squad ahead of the ever-nearing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and shed all doubts around his ability with the bat.
But, the opposite of the same had only transpired as Rahul was cheaply dismissed in both innings of the match.
The right-handed wicketkeeper-batter could only manage to score four runs from four balls in the first innings, after which he was caught by Australia A wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson off Scott Boland’s bowling.
But, the worst was yet to come and it arrived in the form of a bizarre defense-turned-leave off spinner Corey Rocchiccioli, that ran straight onto the stumps and left Rahul castled and confused.
Having been dropped midway through the home Tests against New Zealand, the Indian selectors in consultation with the team management decided to send Rahul and reserve keeper Dhruv Jurel for the second ‘A’ Test before they link up with the senior team in Perth.
But, the recent showing from Rahul only puts him in the hotseat, as selectors will now be left having second thoughts over selecting him for the squad.
Dhruv Jurel, on the other hand, has put up a fantastic showing in the first innings and will look to build on the same in the latter half of the match as well.
Jurel scored nearly half of India A’s paltry first innings total of 161 in 57.1 overs, nothcing 80 runs off 186 balls, with only other batter to cross 20-run mark was Devdutt Padikkal (26).
What stood out during the day was Jurel’s composure and ability to play late, using soft hands.
While Rishabh Pant is the first-choice wicketkeeper batter, Jurel’s ability to leave deliveries on length should put him in a better position than Sarfaraz Khan in the middle-order batter role.
(with agency inputs)
