Duleep Trophy: Differing approaches, differing outcomes for KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant

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Duleep Trophy: Differing approaches, differing outcomes for KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant: Pant’s counterattacking knock takes major stage as India B seizes the initiative after Rahul’s methodical attempt finishes with a meek shot.

KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant at the Duleep Trophy encounter at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium

In the Duleep Trophy match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant made simultaneous appearances in their opposing red-ball avatars.

India’s two best middle-order wicketkeepers, A and B, respectively, controlled the play on Saturday with differing degrees of success.

Over the past six years, Rahul’s elite reputation has etched classics on genuinely gruelling wickets at the Oval and Lord’s in London and Centurion in South Africa. However, there has been ongoing inspection of the Karnataka batter’s Test spot due to irregularities that occasionally occur back in India.

On Day 3, the local boy got the ideal opportunity to end an extraordinary streak of nearly eight years without scoring a home run. As he stepped out to resume India A’s first-inning answer, he even had a filled stand of lively fans cheering for him.

Rahul’s final Indian first-class century came in a 199-run victory over England in Chennai during the winter of 2016. He was destined for bigger things as an opener in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, when he scored six fifties in seven innings in February 2017. It’s strange that in almost as many years at home, Rahul has only played seven Test innings since then.

Accompanying Riyan Parag on Day 2, the 32-year-old delayed 23 out of 80 deliveries. Rahul had his work cut out for him in turning his meticulous watch into a knock of substance, with the surface continuing to support the seamers for another morning.

KL failed to appear:

While left-armer Yash Dayal was happy to shape deliveries away from both right-handers, India B seamer Mukesh Kumar tested Rahul’s resilience with entering deliveries around the off-stump.

After Dayal’s opening over, he raced down to the fine-leg boundary, which caused some of the spectators to become prickly. Recalling the pacer’s disastrous IPL 2023 night in Ahmedabad, the chanting “Rinku, Rinku” may have given him an extra bounce in his step. Dayal’s next over saw him quickly dismiss Parag. The supporters, reminded of his loyalty to the ‘RCB,’ had hailed his return to the fine-leg station as a change.

Dhruv Jurel was also unable to last long, as Navdeep Saini caught the wicketkeeper off guard with the nip-backer. Rahul remained cautious, playing from the depths of the crease as Saini and Nitish Reddy angled in deliveries off the seam, even though there was a significant 170-odd deficit.

Sellers of ice cream and samosas profited from the weekend’s joyful atmosphere as the community turned on Rahul in the hopes of an impending change in direction. On the upper deck, face paints featuring the initials “KL” were increasingly fashionable. However, Rahul lost sight of the story as he approached his third hour at the crease. Rahul raced forward to Washington Sundar’s loopy off-break, as he often does when he gets his first taste of spin in a session. After Rahul’s calculated stroke from outside the off-stump slammed into the stumps, his arduous 178-minute and 111-bowl work came crashing down.

Soon after noon, India B restricted A to 231 for an innings advantage of 90 runs, however movement off the pitch still allowed significant damage.

India’s Test batsmen in this match have generally had a lacklustre campaign; they seem uneasy with their rhythms and movements on a fast-paced pitch. Over the course of three days, the players’ general rustiness has also cost them roughly thirty overs of play.

Once more, an assault blow silenced Yashasvi Jaiswal’s blade. When the India B opener attempted to flick a longer delivery from Khaleel Ahmed, Jurel down leg strapped him.

The turn of Big Brother

First-inning centurion Musheer Khan came in to bat for the third day in a row, but Akash Deep held him to a six-ball duck. The first highlight of Musheer’s elite career was a one-handed stunner on the leg-side from Jurel. The next man out was B captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, who was removed by an alluring out-swinger from Akash on the full.

But Sarfaraz Khan, his brother’s replacement, delivered a stunning counterpunch. After taunting Khaleel for two off-drive boundaries, Sarfaraz enthralled Akash with a mesmerising tirade.

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