Azhar Ali Innings Stands a Tonic Of Hope For Pakistan In Defeat UAE, KL Rahul Disappoints But Dhruv Jurel Comes Out Of Hiding For India ‘A’ Against Australia ‘A’ In The Second Unofficial Test
Indian cricketer KL Rahul’s eagerness to return to India’s national team was another blow on Saturday when he was bowled for a low score of 4 on the first day of the ongoing second ‘A’ Test between India ‘A’ and Australia ‘A’ in Melbourne at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground.
- Score: 4 runs
- Bowled By: Scott Boland
- Opening Pair: KL Rahul with Abhimanyu Easwaran
- India A’s Early Collapse: Rahul’s dismissal left India A in a difficult position at 11/4.
| Player |
Role |
Runs |
Partnerships |
| Dhruv Jurel |
Middle-order Batsman |
80* |
53 with Padikkal, 39 with Reddy |
| Devdutt Padikkal |
Batsman |
26 |
53-run partnership with Jurel |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy |
Batsman |
16 |
39-run partnership with Jurel |
On face value, he is likely to be in the running for one of the middle-order positions in the Indian team before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
He was opening with Bengal’s Abhimanyu Easwaran in this match and was caught behind off Scott Boland’s bowling on the very first day.
What perhaps acted as the final nail in the coffin of India A was his early departure and the team was in a very precarious state at 11/4.
Rahul was the only Kerala batsman to reach double figures and apart from him No.3 batter B Sai Sudharsan and Easwaran were dismissed for zeroes.
Even the Indian A side’s skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad came in to bat only at No. 4 and was sent back to the pavilion for a paltry 4.
However, Dhruv Jurel played a stabilizing innings. After the top-order collapse, Jurel had a 53-run stand with Devdutt Padikkal for the fifth wicket.
Padikkal was important to the cause with his 26, while Jurel continued to fight on, adding a crucial 39 runs with Nitish Kumar Reddy (16).
By the end of 52 overs, Jurel was batting on 80 from 177 balls, taking India A past the 150-run mark as Prasidh Krishna offered support at the other end.
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Rahul, Jurel in India A Squad for Decisive Second Test
Rahul and Jurel have been included in India A’s team for the second unofficial Test for middle-order spots in the Indian test XI, which will take on the Australians in November this year.
The cricketing action between India and New Zealand had already seen India go without Rahul for the Test match when he was left with poor scores of 0 and 12.
Meanwhile, Jurel, since Rishabh Pant has gained complete recovery from a car mishap, waits for a comeback as a batter, even if Pant continues to keep wickets.
Australia A successfully won the first unofficial Test over India A by seven wickets, largely thanks to impressive bowling from Mukesh Kumar of India in the first innings where he picked up 6/46.
The second Test is quite decisive as both teams look to hone their preparations ahead of the main series.
Reference: firstpost.com
