KL Rahul’s 'brain fade' results in the unlikeliest of dismissals: WATCH

KL Rahuls horror run with the bat continued as he got out bizarrely to leave India A at a shaky 73 for five on the second day of the second unofficial Test against Australia A on FridaySeeking to open the batting for India in case skipper Rohit Sharma skips the first Test against Australia in Perth Rahul endured a disastrous outing in the tuneup to the BorderGavaskar Trophy and managed just 14 runs across two innings having got out for 10 in India As second inningsThe 32yearold made a complete hash of the situation inadvertently directing the ball onto the stumps in an utterly bizarre mannerDont know what he was thinkingOops thats an astonishing leave by KL Rahul AUSAvINDA pictwittercome4uDPH1dzzmdash cricketcomau cricketcomau November 8 2024While Rahuls inconsistent form has been a longstanding concern for the Indian team his commitment and application have also come under intense scrutiny The Karnataka batsman was dropped in favor of Sarfaraz Khan for both the second and third Tests against New Zealand Subsequently the BCCI selection committee opted to include him in the India A squad for their series in Australia hoping that the exposure would help him rediscover his rhythm and return to peak formAlso ReadSir Ian Botham saved from deathrsquos door by former rival Merv HughesComing back to the match Abhimanyu Easwarans struggles against the moving ball also did not help India As cause as they led by only 11 runs with half the side back in the dressing room in their second inningsAfter bowling out India A for 161 on the opening day Australia A managed 223 not a total the home team had hoped for but it still gave them a substantial firstinnings lead of 62 runsComing out to bat for the second time in the game the Indian toporder disappointed again as the Australian bowlers struck some vital blows to help their team inch closer to a series sweepAustralia A won the opening match by seven wicketsAlso Read KL Rahuls form and batting number in focus as India A get the G experienceLooking completely out of sorts Rahul was bowled in a bizarre fashion after facing 44 balls at the Melbourne Cricket GroundRahul misjudged a tossed up delivery and offered no shot as the ball ricocheted off his pads to hit the stumps leaving the batter embarrassed while he walked back to the dressing roomGetting bowled between the legs has compounded his woes ahead of the blockbuster seriesAbhimanyu who was picked as a backup opener for the upcoming fivematch rubber Down Under also failed to deliver following his firstinnings duck with a 17 from 31 ballsThe Indian toporder struggled against quality spin and pace leaving them at 565 early in the second inningsWicketkeeperbatter Dhruv Jurel 19 batting and Nitish Kumar Reddy 9 batting ensured there was no further setback by negotiating the remaining overs before the stumps were drawn for the dayAlso Read The future of KL RahulEarlier India As pace attack spearheaded by Prasidh Krishnas fourwicket burst and Mukesh Kumars threewicket haul dominated the Australian batting dismissing them for 223 in 621 oversMarcus Harris was the standout batter for Australia A scoring a gritty 74 off 138 balls while lowerorder batter Rocchiccioli provided late fireworks hitting 35 off 28 balls including two sixes and three foursIn response India A lost openers Abhimanyu and Sai Sudharsan cheaply to disciplined bowling from Nathan McAndrew and Beau WebsterAbhimanyus misreading of McAndrews pace led to his dismissal at gully adding to the teams concernsDevdutt Padikkal 1 also fell cheaply as both Webster 214 and McAndrew 222 tore through Indias batting lineupHowever Jurel and Reddy then held firmResuming the day on 532 Harris translated his overnight score of 26 into a wellconstructed innings showing resilience against a sharp Indian pace attackWith agency inputs