Twitter Reactions: KL Rahul's valiant half-century in vain as India fall 36 runs short in 169-run chase

In preparation for their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign, India took on Western Australia XI for another practice match after winning the first one. The previous game had ended in a close contest but the Men in Blue managed to restrict Western Australia from chasing it and bagged a victory. But they could not repeat similar heroics this time around as Western Australia won the contest by

The game started with the hosts winning the toss and electing to bat first. Arshdeep Singh gave India a flying start as he dismissed the opening batter, Josh Philippe, within the powerplay. But the Indian bowlers were not able to work their magic thereon, for a long period of time. Top-order batters D’Arcy Short and Nick Hobson shared a brilliant 110-run stand for the second wicket and added the crucial runs on board.

Harshal Patel provided his side with the crucial breakthrough when he dismissed Hobson, and then contributed to D’Arcy Short’s run-out as the batting duo walked off scoring their respective half-centuries. It was then the veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who made it difficult for the middle-order batters to score runs as he picked up three quick wickets. Matthew Kelly chipped in towards the end and added 15 runs to the total as Western Australia ended up scoring 168/8.

KL Rahul's lone battle

India’s start to the chase did not go as planned. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant opened India’s batting and the latter was dismissed for a poor score of an 11-ball 9 when Jason Behrendorff dismissed him. Deepak Hooda was next to walk out as Lance Morris dismissed him as soon as he found his rhythm. Hardik Pandya joined Rahul on the field and the two looked to build a partnership and stabilize the innings.

But Hamish McKenzie added to India’s misery by dismissing the in-form all-rounder. Pandya got going from the word go and hit two big sixes to keep India’s scoreboard ticking, but the Western Australia bowlers made sure of breaking India’s momentum. KL Rahul kept finding the gaps and notched up a 55-ball 74 including nine fours and two sixes before being dismissed. The lower-order batters could not do much as India failed to chase down the score and ended up losing the game by 36 runs.