Sunil Gavaskar comes down hard at KL Rahul after another failure

Amidst all the great buildup and mammoth expectations, the blockbuster Test series between India and Australia commenced yesterday at the Adelaide Oval. Indian skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bat first with a positive intent of putting a huge first innings score on the board. India opened the innings with KL Rahul and Murali Vijay. As the pitch on Day 1, Adelaide looked good for batting from the outset, both the openers were expected to take the team off to a great start.

KL Rahul’s conundrum continues

India didn’t get the start that they wanted as both Vijay and Rahul were dismissed inside the first 10 overs. Even the class of Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane departed early, leaving the team at 41/4. Thanks to a display of utmost tenacity and patience from Cheteshwar Pujara, who struck crucial partnerships first with Rohit Sharma and then with Ashwin, taking India to a respectable score of 250/9 at stumps on Day 1 before getting run out by a moment of terrific athleticism from Pat Cummins.

Experts and fans were disappointed with how India’s top 5 batsmen barring Pujara batted as all four of them got out playing the flashy drive outside off-stump when the likes of Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood were firing all cylinders with a new ball that exemplified significant lateral movement. The most talked-about dismissal was that of Rahul who adds one more to his string of Test match failures in 2018.

Gavaskar unimpressed with Rahul

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar, who had the technique of a surgeon and the temperament of a monk during his lustrous career, was least impressed with how Rahul got out today. Gavaskar, in an interview on Aaj Tak, said that the 26-year old shouldn’t be given a chance to play the next match if he doesn’t score runs in the 2nd innings. The exact quote reads: “If KL Rahul doesn’t get a big one in the 2nd innings, he should be dropped from the XI.”

The legendary batsman has always been vocal about issues pertaining to the technique of many Indian batsmen and has even stated that none of the contemporary players come and ask him for batting tips, except Rahane. Gavaskar seems to be more distraught about the manner of dismissal than the dismissal itself as the Karnataka batsman has got out a handful of times by going hard against the deliveries pitched full and wide outside the off stump.

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~Written by Harikrishnan Sivakumar

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