New Delhi: KL Rahul suffered his second batting failure in a span of just over 24 hours as the Karnataka batter’s poor run in red-ball cricket continued during the second unofficial Test between India A and Australia A at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Rahul was sent to Australia to get the hang of the conditions ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as part of BCCI’s plans to pick a potential opening replacement for Rohit Sharma, who is likely to miss the opening Test in Perth starting on November 22.
But Rahul, who was dropped for the last two Tests against New Zealand after scores of 0 and 12 in the 1st Test,
hasn’t done his chances any good on the Australian tour. Rahul was replaced by Sarfaraz Khan in the second and the third Test against New Zealand. and was sent to Australia to rediscover his form.
After being dismissed for 4 runs in 4 balls in the first innings, Rahul managed to reach the double figures in the second essay and also spent some much-needed time at the crease, facing 44 balls. However, the Bengaluru batter was dismissed for just 10 runs.
Facing spinner Corey Rocchiccioli, Rahul suffered a brain-fade moment and offered no shot to a straight delivery allowing the ball to go between his legs and hit the stumps.
WATCH: KL Rahul’s brain-fade moment
“Don’t know what he was thinking!”
Oops… that’s an astonishing leave by KL Rahul 😱 #AUSAvINDA pic.twitter.com/e4uDPH1dzz
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 8, 2024
Earlier, India A bowlers, led by Prasidh Krishna, who picked up four wickets, bundled out the hosts for 223 and kept their team in the fight. The visitors, trailing by 62, endured another horrendous outing with the bat, losing their five wickets for 73 runs in 31 overs.
Rahul (10), Abhimanyu Easwaran (17), Sai Sudharsan (3), Ruturaj Gaikwad (11) and Devdutt Padikkal (1) all fell cheaply as Nathan McAndrew and Beau Webster picked up two wickets each. Dhruv Jurel who scored a superb fifty in the first innings is unbeaten on 19, batting alongside Nitish Kumar Reddy (9) as India A ended Day 2 with a 11-run lead.
Australia A vs India A: Not even hardcore KL Rahul fans will come out in his defence after watching his dismissal in the second unofficial Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
