Adelaide: KL Rahul is widely considered one of the most promising prospects for Team India in international cricket. The Karanataka batsman, however, has hit a rough patch with his bat and has been unable to find runs in all three formats of the game. On Thursday, he opened the innings against the Aussies in the 1st Test at Adelaide but lasted only eight deliveries – prompting fans to question why he continues to find a place in the playing XI.
Rahul opened the Indian innings with Murali Vijay after Virat Kohli chose to bat in conditions that largely favoured the bowlers. He managed to negotiate the first over of the Test but a callous drive in the second over found a noticable chunk of the edge with the ball racing towards Aaron Finch at third slip. Guilty of an absolutely loose shot, with no accompanying footwork, a dejected Rahul made his way back with only two runs against his name.
And the fans were quite scathing in what they thought of the performance.
Rahul has been rather edgy in his recent endeavours with the bat. In the T20I series Down Under, the 26-year-old scored 13 and 14 before managing a 62 in the warm-up clash against Cricket Australia XI. Before this, he scored 16, 26*, 17 and 13 in the home T20Is against the West Indies. In the Tests against the men from the Carribean, he scored 0, 4 and 33* in his three chances. In fact, his last international fifty in any format was against minnows Afghanistan in a match played in Dubai on September 25. He had scored 60.
On Wednesday, however, it was not just Rahul who failed to click. The Indian batting was opened up by a determined bowling attack from the Aussies with Vijay (11), Kohli (3) and Rahane (13) departing quickly.
