Windies vs India: KL Rahul takes a nasty blow on the elbow off Kemar Roach
Rahul ended up scoring 44 runs with five boundaries.
Kemar Roach breathed fire on the opening day of the first Test between hosts Windies and India. The pitch at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua had a bit of moisture in the first session as it rained quite a bit before the encounter. The speedster got rid of opener Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara in his third over, which reduced the visiting team to 7/2 in a mere five overs.
He also gave some tough time to KL Rahul, who scored a gritty 44 off 97 balls with the help of five boundaries. In the ninth over, Roach smacked him on the elbow. The pacer churned out a back-of-a-length ball, which bounced sharply. It also shaped back into the batsman, catching Rahul napping.
Rahul was a bit caught in the crease, being neither back nor front. The leather went and crashed into his elbow. Immediately enough, he winced in pain and moved his right hand away from the bat. At that point in time, he was only on four and Roach was still relatively fresh, bowling his fifth over.
KL Rahul showing guts in the middle
Rahul had to fight it out in the middle and he staved off the likes of Roach and Shannon Gabriel, who got rid of Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper. After 7.5 overs, India found themselves in all sorts of trouble with the score at 25 for three. Rahul was a witness to three wickets going down in no time and the batter had the task of grinding hard and inject some momentum into the innings.
He along with Ajinkya Rahane added 68 runs for the fourth wicket in around 27 overs. Rahul eventually perished to the guile and trajectory of off-spinner Roston Chase. He tried to glance one down the leg side. But Shai Hope showed very quick reflexes to take a wonderful catch.
Umpire Richard Kettleborough had no hesitation in raising his finger. Rahul had a bit of a chat with Rahane and then walked off, disappointed and dejected. On the other hand, Rahane went on to score 81 off 163 with 10 boundaries. The visitors ended the day on 203 for six in 68.5 overs.
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