After his failure to replicate the success of Perth in Adelaide, there were growing calls of dropping K L Rahul back to No.6, but the Karnataka right-hander continued to enjoy the backing of the team management, and walked out as the opener at the Gabba.
India’s Test stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara has voiced his support for KL Rahul to retain his place at the top of the order, even suggesting that Rohit Sharma could move down to No.3 to accommodate him for the day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval, starting December 6.
Putting behind the batting blues of the opening day, India came back strongly to gain firm control over the Perth Test against Australia with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and K L Rahul taking the first-innings lead of 46 - earned through a Jasprit Bumrah fifer - and stretched it past 200 by the end of the second day’s play at the Optus Stadium on Saturday.
In what comes as welcome news for India in their build-up to the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test starting on November 22, KL Rahul returned to batting during the team's training session at the WACA Stadium on Sunday.
Star batter K L Rahul was forced to retire hurt after being hit by a rising delivery from Prasidh Krishna during the team’s intra-squad match simulation at the WACA in Perth on Friday.
In Yadav's absence, another rookie pacer, Yash Thakur grabbed the opportunity with both hands, and starred with a five-wicket haul against GT.
Currently tottering at the 8th place in the 10-team IPL standings, RCB have two points from three matches, and alarmingly their net run rate has plummeted to -0.71 after a heavy defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous outing at home last week.
Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural IPL champions, had finished second to Gujarat Titans in 2022, and looked good in the initial stages even last season before slipping to a fifth place finish in the end.
The 30-year-old Bumrah turned the Vizag Test in India’s favour with nine wickets, including a brilliant six-wicket haul in the first essay during an eventual 106-run win to help India draw level in the series.
As a result, India’s batting will mainly revolve around the contributions from Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer, along with skipper Rohit Sharma, in their quest for a win.
