KL Rahul forged a lone battle against a high-quality Australian pace bowling at the Gabba. He looked like a million dollars in Perth and continued to bat the same way in Brisbane, showing his fellow partners a path on how to bat in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). When India continued to lose wickets up top on Day 3, it was Rahul who negotiated brilliantly. However, on Day 4, his vigil ended at 84, making him avoid a much-deserved century.
Steve Smith takes KL Rahul by surprise
Heading into Day 4, India had hopes pinned on KL Rahul to push the total into safer territory. However, his heroic innings came to an end in the 43rd over of the innings, thanks to a moment of sheer brilliance from Steven Smith in the slip cordon.
Nathan Lyon, Australia’s premier off-spinner, produced a delivery just back of a length outside off. Rahul, who had looked immaculate until that point, attempted a late cut, aiming to pierce the gap. However, the ball found the edge of his bat and flew rapidly to Smith at slip. After dropping a straightforward chance earlier, Smith made amends with a stunning one-handed catch to his right, diving at full stretch and plucking the ball out of thin air.
KL Rahul shows Indian batters a way
Rahul’s 84 off 139 balls was a display of controlled aggression and grit. His innings included eight boundaries, most of which came off elegant drives and cuts, giving Indian fans something delightful. Otherwise, it all looked gloomy for them. Yashasvi Jaiswal was out on four, Shubman Gill threw his wicket away, and so did Virat Kohli. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma also looked clueless. KL Rahul, on the flip side, batted with remarkable composure against both pace and spin, negotiating short-pitched deliveries while being equally adept at handling Nathan Lyon’s probing lines.
The main highlight of KL Rahul’s innings was the fact that he played every delivery quite late. While both Kohli and Rohit like to play with hard hands, Rahul focused on timing the ball and let it come to him. He has looked like a tailor-made batter for these conditions.
