November 22, 2024: KL Rahul achieved a significant milestone on Thursday by completing 3,000 runs in Test cricket during the first Test of the highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Rahul, who has been a key figure in India’s batting lineup, reached this mark in his 54th Test match.
In his first innings, Rahul played a patient knock of 26 runs off 74 balls, hitting three boundaries. However, his innings was cut short by a controversial decision. Rahul was caught behind off Mitchell Starc’s bowling, with wicketkeeper Alex Carey taking the catch. The dismissal was contentious as the snickometer showed a sound, but it was unclear whether the sound came from the ball hitting the bat or his bat striking the pad. After a review, the third umpire, Richard Illingworth, upheld the on-field decision, ruling Rahul out.
With 3,007 runs in 92 innings, Rahul has an average of 33.78 in Tests, including eight centuries and 15 fifties. His highest score remains 199. Rahul’s ability to score big centuries in tough conditions like Australia, South Africa, and England has made him a valuable asset for India, especially in overseas tours. However, his career has been marked by periods of inconsistency, with his performances often swinging between strong knocks and lean patches.
This year has been a mixed bag for Rahul in Tests, as he has scored 260 runs in six matches and nine innings at an average of 32.50, with two fifties and a best score of 86.
On the match front, India won the toss and opted to bat first but faced early setbacks. By the end of the first session, India was struggling at 51/4, with Rishabh Pant (10*) and Dhruv Jurel (4*) remaining unbeaten. Starc and Josh Hazlewood were the main architects of the early breakthroughs, dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal (0), Devdutt Padikkal (0), and Virat Kohli (5) in quick succession.
India’s Playing XI:
- KL Rahul
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Virat Kohli
- Rishabh Pant (w)
- Dhruv Jurel
- Nitish Reddy
- Washington Sundar
- Harshit Rana
- Jasprit Bumrah (c)
- Mohammed Siraj
Australia’s Playing XI:
- Usman Khawaja
- Nathan McSweeney
- Marnus Labuschagne
- Steven Smith
- Travis Head
- Mitchell Marsh
- Alex Carey (w)
- Pat Cummins (c)
- Mitchell Starc
- Nathan Lyon
- Josh Hazlewood
The match is still ongoing, and India’s fightback will need to be strong if they are to recover from their early slump. With a talented but under-pressure batting lineup, the team will look to build partnerships and give their bowlers a competitive total to defend.
